Can We Still Be Friends
by EvenThoIDoubtedIt
Summary: Natalie Gordon's got it all. The looks, the boyfriend, the money...everything in her life is going good, but when Lizzie McGuire enters the picture, things get a little out of hand. Rated for some swearing. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
A/N: Hey. I know I haven't been writing for a while. Future Lizzie is pretty frozen right now, I don't know what to do with the story. As for this, this is just a test to see if anyone likes it. The plot is basically the same as lots of others: Lizzie and Gordo are together, something happens which cause Gordo to leave, Lizzie finds out she's pregnant, she keeps the baby, a few years later Gordo comes back and Lizzie has to tell him or whatever. But this one is different, it has a couple of twists and turns and whatnot. This story is titled "Can We Still Be Friends" after the song Can We Still Be Friends by Mandy Moore. I don't feel like explaining why I named it that but I might later.  
  
This story takes place in mid October, when Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda are freshmen.  
  
**Full Summary:** Lizzie and Gordo attend a party held by the seniors where what they thought would be a blast turned into a nightmare. A few weeks after, Lizzie finds out she's pregnant, and Gordo's father gets a job in Massachusetts, so he has to leave Hillridge. When he comes back five years later, an accident occurs, leaving him with Lizzie's (and Gordo's) child...  
  
_Anyway._  
  
Here we go.  
  
Fifteen-year-old Lizzie McGuire skipped down the hallway of Hillridge High School. She spotted Gordo at his locker, and ran up to him.  
  
"Hey!" she said brightly.  
  
"Hey," Gordo said and smiled.  
  
"Did you hear about Mark Dawson's party this weekend?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yeah, you going?"  
  
"Yup. Please come with me, Gordo! A party's always a drag when you don't have your best friend to talk to!"  
  
"Why do you wanna go to Mark's party anyway? You know he practically stalks you," Gordo said.  
  
Mark Dawson was a senior at Hillridge High, he was one of the jocks, and ever since he first saw Lizzie, he was hooked onto her. He would do _anything_ to become her boyfriend. Lizzie didn't like him, of course. She heard him talking with his friends one day, and he said "Oh, no, Lizzie McGuire? She's just a girl with a pretty face and a nice ass. You actually thought I would go _steady_ with her? Dude, she's fifteen."  
  
"I know that, Gordo," Lizzie said as if Gordo was stupid.  
  
"Lizzie, I bet you anything that his party's gonna be the kind where everyone drinks and ends up in bed."  
  
"Gordo, I know that, I don't want to go either, I really don't, but seriously, Gordo, if I don't Mark is gonna break in my house on Saturday, forcing me to come to the party."  
  
"Lizzie..."  
  
"Fine. I'll go. But the minute things start to get out of control, we're leaving."  
  
"Got it."  
  
A/N: I know this was short, but this is just a test thing to see if anyone likes it. Review please!


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One  
  
A/N: Okay, I re-did this chapter because it was SO horrible before. I am so unbelievably sorry to all those people who read it. I put more detail into it and changed the main part.  
  
Chapter One  
  
It was Saturday night.  
  
Gordo was right, Lizzie thought, This party's turned out to be a disaster.  
  
All around her couples were making out on couches, floors, chairs, and tables. At around 9:15, Mark brought in some beer his brother had bought and almost everyone started drinking.   
  
Miranda had left about an hour ago with Larry Tudgeman (who was now pretty cool). Kate and Ethan didn't even show up, and Brooke Baker, Ryan (the guy Miranda liked in some season 1 episode), Parker McKenzie, and a bunch of other people were there.  
  
"Hey," Gordo said as he approached Lizzie.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"I told you this was gonna be bad," Gordo stated.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Lizzie sighed.  
  
"Yo, Lizzie, what up?" Mark said.  
  
"Nothing, y-you?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Want something to drink?" Mark asked.  
  
Without waiting for a reply, Mark grabbed a beer from the box and opened it up. He handed it to Lizzie, who turned it down.  
  
"Come on, it's good, try some, just a sip," Mark said.  
  
"No, thanks," Lizzie said nervously.  
  
"Come on, you bitch!" Mark said.  
  
"No!" Lizzie nearly screamed. She pushed Mark off of her and ran over to Gordo.  
  
"What's his problem?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Whatever," Lizzie said, "He's such a jerk."  
  
"I know he is."  
  
Lizzie looked over at Mark who was calling her over. He still had the beer in his hand.  
  
"Whoah, look Liz, Parker McKenzie's drinking," Gordo whispered in her ear.  
  
Lizzie looked to where Gordo was pointing and saw that he was right. Parker was drinking. Almost everyone else was, too.  
  
"Gordo, maybe we should...try some..."  
  
"No way! Liz, what has gotten into you?"  
  
"Gordo, it's not like we're gonna get wasted and end up in bed together!"  
  
"How would you know?"  
  
"Come on, Gordo! If I don't drink this stuff then Mark will probably try to rape me or something!" Lizzie told him.  
  
Gordo couldn't bear Lizzie getting attacked by that jerk. "Fine," he finally sighed.  
  
"Okay, come on,! Thanks you so much!" Lizzie grabbed Gordo's hand and led him to the case of beer. She reached in and grabbed two bottles.  
  
It only took four minutes for Lizzie to finish her bottle. She dropped it on the ground where it broke, and then whispered to Gordo, "Let's go somewhere more private."  
  
She grabbed Gordo's hand and they disappeared into a room down the hall.

The next morning, Lizzie rolled over and found herself face-to-face with Gordo, who was asleep. She was about to scream but the peeked under the covers and realized that she wasn't wearing anything. She looked on the floor and saw her clothes.  
  
Then, as quietly as possible, she put on her clothes and slipped out of the room. She tiptoed into the party room where she found some people asleep. She grabbed her purse and jacket and hurried out the back door.  
  
A/N: Yes, I know, no detail. But at least this was like, five times better than the first one. In my opinion. 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
A/N: Thank God the last chapter is over and done with. I felt so strange writing it :S Anyways, here's the next chapter, enoy :)  
  
Oh, yeah, and Lizzie and Kate are friends in this story.  
  
It was four weeks after the party.  
  
Lizzie was in horrible condition.  
  
She was throwing up every morning, she had major headaches, and the worst part was that she knew why, and the only other people who knew was Miranda and Kate, and her parents.  
  
Lizzie was pregnant.  
  
With Gordo's baby.  
  
Her mother didn't really get mad at Lizzie. She had told her that Mark had almost forced her into drinking, and whatever, and Mrs. McGuire got all sympathetic on her.  
  
Her father, on the other hand, wasn't speaking with her.  
  
Lizzie was sitting in the quad at school. She was a mess. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she wore a tight t-shirt and jeans that had stains on them. She wore no makeup, and she was tired.  
  
"Hey, Liz," Miranda said as she sat down beside her.  
  
"Hey," Lizzie rasped.  
  
"How ya feelin'?"   
  
"Like crap."  
  
"Did you tell Gordo yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Come on, Liz, you HAVE to tell him before it's too late!" Miranda shrieked.  
  
"Too late for what?"  
  
Miranda hesitated.  
  
"You mean he didn't tell you?"  
  
Lizzie lifted her head.  
  
"T-tell me what?"  
  
"Oh...n-nothing."  
  
"It's not nothing, Rand. Tell me the truth."  
  
"Lizzie, this is something Gordo has to tell you yourself," Miranda told her best friend truthfully.  
  
"Fine," Lizzie croaked and placed her crossed arms on the table.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Gordo trudged slowly through the schoolyard.  
  
Right now, he hated his parents, he hated life, he hated everyone, and everything.  
  
"I am NOT moving," he whispered to himself.  
  
The night before his parents dropped the bomb on him. They were moving to Massachussetts (A/N: spelling!?) in the next couple of months.  
  
Gordo groaned and walked up to his locker.  
  
"Yo, Jake, wait up!" a female voice called out.  
  
Gordo turned around and saw Stacie Rainford run up to her boyfriend, Jake Watson.  
  
"What's up, Stace?"  
  
"There's three of them now!"  
  
"Three?"  
  
"Yes! Brooke, Parker, and believe it or not, Lizzie McGuire!"  
  
Gordo froze.  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"What did Gordo say?"  
  
"I don't think she's told him yet!"  
  
"How come?"  
  
"I don't know! But have you seen her? She looks like a piece of sh!t!"  
  
"Get out!"  
  
"I'm dead serious! Come, I'll show you to her!"  
  
Stacie grabbed Jake and dragged him out of view.  
  
Gordo just stood there in shock.  
  
"No way..." he whispered.  
  
He ran into the quad and looked around. He spotted Miranda handing a bottle of juice to a sick looking girl. He saw Parker McKenzie with Ben Reid, crying her eyes out. He saw Kate sitting with Ethan watching the sick girl Miranda was with sympathetically (A/N: spelling!?).  
  
"Where is she?" he asked himself.  
  
Wait a minute.  
  
He took a second look at the sick girl.  
  
"Oh my god," he whispered.  
  
It couldn't be her....could it?  
  
No, he thought, It couldn't be. Lizzie's too beautiful to be her. That girl looks half dead...  
  
He made his way to their table and sat down.  
  
"Oh my God..." Gordo said.  
  
Lizzie looked up at him and said, "Gordo, please don't look at me. I'm a mess right now."  
  
Miranda gave Gordo a look.  
  
Lizzie sighed.  
  
"Oh, man," she said after a while. She jumped up and ran into the building.  
  
"Hey," Miranda said quietly.  
  
"Hey," Gordo said.  
  
"You didn't tell her yet?"  
  
"No. I only found out yesterday at dinner. She wasn't home when I called."  
  
"Yeah, I know, she was at the doctor getting some-" Miranda clapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Getting a what?" Gordo asked slowly.  
  
"N-nothing...nothing at all.."  
  
"Oh, that." Gordo said.  
  
"You know?"  
  
"I overheard Stacie Rainford and Jake Watson talking about it just now."  
  
"How do they know?"  
  
"I don't know. Two other girls are pregnant."  
  
"I know."  
  
Gordo sat down across from Miranda.  
  
"But how am I supposed to tell Lizzie I'm moving to another state now? With this going on?"  
  
"I don't know. This sucks."  
  
"Tell me about it. When my parents find out they'll never talk to me again."  
  
"Lizzie's dad hates her."  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Hey guys, sorry about that," Lizzie said as she walked up to the table and sat down.  
  
"Hi, Gordo," she sniffed.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Please, don't."  
  
"Don't what?"  
  
"Look at me like that, I look awful, I haven't gotten sleep in days," Lizzie told him.  
  
"Lizzie, no matter what, you're beautiful," Gordo said.  
  
A/N: Yeah, I know, sucky end to a chapter, I just have to get to bed now, so review, review, review! Mwah!  
  
xoxo, Allison 


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I know the story seems really rushed, but.....I'm pretty busy right now and so I just write out about three chapters a night or whatever. And for chapter one, I would've actually written it out with more details and everything, but, the thruth is, if my parents saw what I was writing they would've flipped. I mean, I'm 11, and all of my friends know how it actually works...and I do, too, but it's just something I don't want to risk writing because of my parents, so yeah.  
  
Oh, yeah, and just to let you know, I made a mistake. When Gordo overheard Stacie and Jake talking, I left out something in the conversation. It should have went:  
  
"What's up, Stace?"  
  
"There's one more pregnant!"  
  
"Really? Who?"  
  
"You know about Brooke and Parker, but the new one is, believe it or not, Lizzie McGuire!"  
  
So that's how Gordo knows about Lizzie. I just re-read that chapter and realized that I didn't put that in.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Lizzie's eyes cracked open. Sunlight streamed in through her bedroom window. She rubbed her eyes turned over, trying to get back to sleep.  
  
"Lizzie!" Matt called from downstairs, "Breakfast's ready!"  
  
Ever since Lizzie found out she was pregnant, Matt had been super nice to her. He had changed completely.   
  
"Whatever," Lizzie mumbled into her pillowcase.  
  
It was three days after Gordo had found out about Lizzie. It had also been three days since Gordo had told Lizzie that he was moving.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Well, I gotta run, I need to borrow some notes from Larry for English," Miranda said, gathering up her things, "Adios!"  
  
She jumped up and disappeared into the school.  
  
"So..." Lizzie started.  
  
"Liz, there's something I have to tell you," Gordo interrupted, "And it's something not good."  
  
"What? What happened?" Lizzie asked, suddenly really into what Gordo was saying.  
  
Gordo took a deep breath and looked straight into Lizzie's eyes.  
  
"My dad got a new job in Massachussets," he finally said, "We're moving in a couple of months."  
  
Lizzie's eyes practically bulged out of her head. She had a look of shock, or fear, in her eyes.  
  
Gordo sighed.  
  
"And..." he continued, "I kinda already know about...you...pregnant..."  
  
After he said that, Lizzie lost it. She burst into tears.  
  
"Oh...my god...Gordo...I'm sooo sorry...please forgive me...you don't have to be involved with this...our baby...unless...you want to..." she sobbed.  
  
"Lizzie, it's not your fault. It's my fault. I was the one that got you pregnant," Gordo said as he grabbed Lizzie's hand.  
  
RIIIINNG.  
  
"Oh, man..." Lizzie sighed after calming down. She stood up and gathered her books. Then she looked at Gordo. "Better get to class."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
Knock. Knock.  
  
"Ugh...come in," Lizzie moaned.  
  
Slowly, the door opened, and Matt poked his head in.  
  
"Breakfast is on the table when you're ready to come down," he told her.  
  
"'Kay...thanks..." Lizzie smiled for the first time that week.  
  
Matt closed the door. A couple of minutes later Lizzie sat up and looked around her room. She spotted an issue of YM, and reached over and picked it up. She flipped through it, trying to find the page she had read the day she had bought it, which was the day before she found out she was officially pregnant.  
  
There was a picture of Brittany Snow and on the opposite page it read, "Be Smart. Fewer than one third of teen mothers receive a high school diploma."  
  
"So that means I'm never gonna finish high school," Lizzie whispered to herself, "Perfect."  
  
She shut the magazine and and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and landed in the trashcan below it. Then she tossed her blanket over her head and closed her eyes. She thought of everything that was happening...she was pregnant at fifteen, Gordo, her best friend, was leaving her, she was never going to finish high school...  
  
A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she fell asleep.  
  
A/N: oh, man, that chapter sucked. the next one is in process right now. 


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
A/N: here's the next chapter. It's a songfic. There might be some more chapters like this later in the story. They are probably going to be Evanescence, or something depressing like that. Lol. Evanescence is like my favourite band...anyways, here's the next chapter, enjoy.  
  
P.S. and you guys know how much suck at songifcs, lol.

JUNE 14th/04: I changed the song to Taking Over Me. It kinda makes a _bit_ more sense...but whatever.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
It was around 9:30 at night, and all day long, Lizzie just lay in bed reading old magazines. And throwing up.  
  
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed outside. Lizzie was sitting on her bed, writing a essay for English. She was in the "I don't wanna talk to anyone...leave me the hell alone...I hate the world" type of mood. She had heard that Brooke Baker's father wanted to sue Mark.   
  
Lizzie hesitated for a minute. She though of Gordo, and how much she loved him. She had a crush on him for the longest time, and she hadn't told him. Now she probably would never get the chance.  
  
She reached over and turned on her radio just as a song started playing.  
  
_You don't remember me, but I remember you  
I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you  
But who can decide what they dream, and dream I do  
  
I believe in you  
I'll give up everything just to find you  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me  
  
Have you forgotten all I know, and all we had  
You saw me mourning my love for you, and touched my hand  
I knew you loved me then  
  
I believe in you  
I'll give up everything just to find you  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me  
  
I look in the mirror and see your face  
If I look deep enough  
So many things inside that are  
Just like you are taking over  
  
I believe in you  
I'll give up everything just to find you  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me  
  
I believe in you  
(I believe in you)  
I'll give up everything just to find you  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me (taking over me)  
You're taking over me (taking over me)  
You're taking over me.....  
_  
  
"Oh, man," Lizzie groaned, "How come every song I hear seems to describe just how I'm feeling at the moment?"  
  
She switched off her radio and crumpled up her essay.  
  
"It's not like it's gonna matter, anyway, I'm not even gonna graduate for that freaking school!" she screamed. She threw her books onto the floor and turned off the light.  
  
She lay in her bed, listening to the storm rage on....and no matter how upset she was, all she could think about was Gordo.  
  
A/N: blaaaah I know this chapter REALLY sucked...it was too...depressing? i don't know....it's just that Lizzie feels like crap and depressed and whatever, so yeah.  
  
Has anyone heard Seether's song "Broken" featuring Amy Lee? Holy crap, I'm addicted to it...


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
A/N: yeah, I know My Last Breath didn't fit Lizzie's mood, it's just that when I as going through the lyrics of Evanescence songs, I couldn't really find one that really sounded something sort of..AI don't know how to describe it, because, I suck. So yeah. Oh, and now I will officially stop with "yeah, that chapter sucked...." at the end, lol. And I am not fishing for reviews, lol. But thanks for everyone who's been reviewing! My teacher was proofreading some story I wrote (and i despise it sooo much) and she totally flipped, she was like "OH MY GOSH, you are such a talented writer, you should publish your writing somewhere, like on the internet! and blah...blah blah..." she doesn't know that I already do, kinbda. Lol. Anyways, here's the next chapter.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Miranda and Gordo walked up to Lizzie's house on Monday.  
  
"Have you talked to her at all this weekend?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No, I stopped by yesterday, but Mrs. McGuire said Lizzie wouldn't see anyone," Miranda said as she struggled to carry her books.  
  
"Why didn't you bring your backpack?"  
  
"Because," Miranda said as a textbook slipped out of her arms, "The weight of my homework caused it to rip at the bottom."  
  
"Oh," Gordo replied as he rang the doorbell. A minute later the door opened, revealing Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie had cleaned herself up over the weekend. Her hair was washed and pulled up into a high ponytail. Her lips were painted with lipgloss and she was wearing plain jeans and a blue t-shirt. Even though she looked really plain, Gordo thought that she looked beautiful.  
  
"Hey, guys! What's up?" Lizzie asked cheerfully.  
  
"I'm surprised you haven't killed yourself yet!" Miranda said.  
  
"I stayed in my room all weekend, so what? I needed a fresh start."  
  
"A fresh start?" Gordo asked.  
  
"You call "I'm a pregnant fifteen year old who's never gonna graduate high school" a fresh start?" Miranda said.  
  
"No," Lizzie answered.  
  
"A fresh start is like when you wake up in the morning and say, 'I'm gonna go gothic and start my own band!' or 'I'm gonna go veggie and join the Peace Corps!'" Miranda told her.  
  
"You call gothic 'fresh'?" Gordo asked Miranda.  
  
"Whatever, Gordo," Miranda said.  
  
"Anyway," Lizzie broke in, "Let's get to school before we're late!" She grabbed her backpack and stepped outside.  
  
"You're going to school today?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Yup," Lizzie replied.  
  
"Even if you've been throwing up nonstop?" Miranda said.  
  
"I don't throw up nonstop, Rand," Lizzie told her friend.  
  
"Whatever," Miranda said.  
  
They walked the rest of the way to the bus stop in silence. When they got there, Kate ran up to them and said, "Hey guys! Guess what!"  
  
"What!?" Miranda asked.  
  
"There's gonna be some dance in a few weeks! Isn't that cool?" Kate jumped up and down.  
  
"Duh!" Miranda shrieked.  
  
The two friends jumped up and down in excitement. Lizzie and Gordo just stood there, staring.  
  
After a minute Kate stopped jumping and said to Lizzie, "Oh, and don't worry, Liz, Mark's not gonna be there. I heard he got in a lot of trouble with his parents, and Parker's parents, oh, yeah, and while I'm at it, Brooke's parents. I'm not sure about your parents though."  
  
"Whatever," Lizzie sighed.  
  
"How ya feelin'?" Kate asked.  
  
"Fine, I guess," Lizzie answered.  
  
Then the bus showed up, and everyone got on. As Lizzie walked to the back of the bus she felt everyone's eyes on her. She found a seat at the back and Gordo sat down next to her.  
  
"So," Gordo said, "Are you going to the dance?"  
  
"Maybe," Lizzie replied, "Depends."  
  
"Depends?"  
  
"I would never get a date. I mean, would you ask out a pregnant girl your age?"  
  
"Depends..." Gordo answered.  
  
"Depends?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yeah. I mean....actually, I don't know what I mean."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Lizzie sighed.  
  
"This is going to be my last school dance probably," she said quietly.  
  
"Oh," was all Gordo could say.  
  
Just then, they arrived at school, and their conversation ended. 


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six  
  
A/N: Now I will officially start adding to chapters a night. But for tonight, I am giving you Chapter Six, and chapter seven and eight, because tomorrow right after school I have to sleep over at my grandma's house cause my mom has some work dinner and my dad works night shifts, so yeah. I love going to my grandma's, she's not like a 78-year-old who can barely talk. She's in her late fifties, so it's fun to actually talk to her. Now I will shut up, because you guys don't really care about m,y life anyways. And right now I am working on a shortfic. It's an alternate ending to Bye, Bye, Hillridge Junior High. It's based on some strange dream I had about it. Weird. Anyways, here's chapter six. Enjoy :)  
  
Chapter Six  
  
At lunch that day, Lizzie was sitting by herself, when Parker McKenzie showed up.  
  
"Hey Lizzie," Parker said in that high pitched voice of hers, "How are you doing?"  
  
"Fine," Lizzie replied, "You?"  
  
"Good, I guess," Parker said, "I've been having morning sickness though. How'd your parents take it?"  
  
"Well, my mom was all sympathetic, and my dad didn't talk to me for a couple of weeks after. I think my mom convinced him that it wasn't my fault or whatever and now he wants to have heart-to-heart talks with me."  
  
"My parents took it pretty bad, but then they did the worst thing and told Ben's parents, and then they kicked him out, so he moved in with us," Parker told her.  
  
"Ben? Ben Smith? He's the father?"  
  
"Yup. My parents said we should get married, but Ben and I were like, NO WAY. Not yet, at least. I mean, we barely even know each other," Parker said.  
  
"Well at least Ben's staying in Hillridge," Lizzie said.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I feel so sorry for you, I mean, having to raise your baby without a father," Parker said as she sat down across from Lizzie, "Does Gordo's parents know?"  
  
"I...I honestly don't know," Lizzie said truthfully, "I wonder how they'd react. They might flip. But on the other hand, it's not like they're gonna be around for when this baby comes. I'll probably never see them again," Lizzie said.  
  
"Bummer. Aren't you gonna eat?"  
  
"No. I'm not hungry. Have you talked to Brooke lately?"  
  
"Yeah. Her parents said they might sue Mark, but Brooke told them not to. Omigosh, did you hear? Lindsay Malcolm is pregnant also," Parker said.  
  
"Really? Who's the father?"  
  
"Shawn Jacobs."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, it's been great talkin to ya, but I gotta go finish up some essay for English. Did you finish it?" Parker asked as she stood up.  
  
"No. I started it on Saturday, but then I threw it out. It doesn't even matter. It won't even have to effect my grade at this place, I'm going to be leaving in a few months to start at some weird school," Lizzie told her.  
  
"Oh, yeah. My parents said I have to go to that place too. It's for like...teen parents...or something...it's creepy. In the brochure things it says it's gonna teach ya how to be a parent or whatever," Parker said, "Well anyways, later!"  
  
"Later," Lizzie said.  
  
"Lizzie! There you are!" a familiar voice said from behind, "I am SO stupid, I completely forgot to tell you this..."  
  
Lizzie turned around to face Gordo. 


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
  
A/N: I know the last chapter was short, but whatever. I'm updating so much now because when I think of a new fanfic, I plan it out all in my head, the plot, the new characters, the location, etc. So I just feel like updating more and more. And this story is going to be around 20 chapters or something. Oh, and my friend's sister is a teen mom and she had to go to drop out of normal high school and she had to go to some school for teen parents, and they learned all the stuff you need to know about being a parent and whatever, so that's how I know about that type of school, in case no one really heard of that. So yeah.  
  
Oh, yeah, and this chapter is gonna be L/G, I haven't been putting much stuff between them in here, so yeah.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
"What?" Lizzie asked.  
  
Gordo sat down beside her.  
  
"I should have told you this morning, but I couldn't because Miranda was there, and then we were on the bus where almost everyone could hear, and it's about the....thing," Gordo said.  
  
"The 'thing'?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yeah, uh...you know, the baby?"  
  
"Oh...yeah..." Lizzie said, "So what happened?"  
  
"Well I told my parents."  
  
"...And how'd they take it?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Well first my mom completely flipped out, and then my dad gave me a huge lecture, and then my mom called up your mom and asked if it was true, and then she told her that we were moving in January," Gordo told her.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Yeah. Then my mom said to me that 'I should be lucky that we're moving because then I won't have to take care of this baby.' Isn't that insane? She acted as if I don't care about it!"  
  
"Why would your mom say something like that?"  
  
"I don't know, it's not like her. I remember her telling me about some patient she had a couple years back. The patient was flipping out because her teenage daughter got pregnant, and had to drop out of high school, and get four jobs. And then my mother said to me that she felt sorry for the girl, and now when you're pregnant with my baby she goes all weird on me."  
  
"That sucks. Try talking to her or something," Lizzie said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to," Gordo said.  
  
The two stared at each other silently for a few minutes. Then Lizzie looked around them and saw that about five couples were making out like crazy.  
  
"Ugh! Doesn't anyone have anything better to do than make out?" Lizzie said.  
  
"It's not SO bad, Liz," Gordo told her.  
  
"Well, I can't just get up and go make out with some random guy! I mean, look at me!" Lizzie whined.  
  
"What's so bad about yourself? You're beautiful, even if you're gonna become a mother at sixteen," Gordo blurted out.  
  
Lizzie hesitated before saying, "What did you mean about that?"  
  
"I...don't know..." Gordo stammered.  
  
The two friends suddenly found themselves slowly leaning in towards each other. Gordo placed his hand on Lizzie's cheek and pressed his lips against hers. He thought she would pull away, but she kissed him back.  
  
They both pulled apart and sat there, staring at each other.  
  
"Uh...thanks..." Lizzie said, a smile forming at her lips.  
  
"Your welcome..." Gordo said.  
  
Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of class. 


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight  
  
A/N: I know these chapters are short. Expect two more tonight.  
  
Oh, and Jersey Princess: Parker McKenzie is the girl that called Gordo short in..I think the episode was called A Gordo story or something. She's the girl with the really high pitched voice, you know who I'm talking about? And Brooke Baker was Gordo's girlfriend in the episode Gordo and the Girl.  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
When Lizzie got home from school that afternoon, her mother told her that Gordo called. So Lizzie ran up to her room and called him back.  
  
After the first ring, Gordo answered.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, it's Lizzie."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"My mom said you called," Lizzie said.  
  
"Oh, right," Gordo said.  
  
"Well, what did you need to tell me?"  
  
"Well...I was kinda wondering..if you wanted to that dance with me. Like, as an actual date."  
  
Lizzie froze.   
  
Oh my god, she thought, Gordo is asking me out? Does he feel the same way? Please, please, please...  
  
"Lizzie?" Gordo interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Oh! Yes! I'd love to," Lizzie said.  
  
"You...mean it?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie said, "I really do. What is this dance for, again?"  
  
"I don't think it even has a purpose," Gordo said, "Just for the heck of it, I guess."  
  
"Yeah. Look, Gordo, I gotta go...throw up..."   
  
"Oh, okay then, bye."  
  
"Bye," Lizzie said and hung up. She ran into the washroom and slammed the door. When she was finished throwing up, the phone rang again, and it was Miranda.  
  
"Hey, Liz!" Miranda said cheerfully, "How ya feelin'?"  
  
"Good," Lizzie answered.  
  
"Guess what!?" Miranda said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I got a date for the dance!" Miranda shrieked.  
  
"That's awesome! Who's the lucky guy?"  
  
"Larry!"  
  
"Wow, that's great! I mean, every since he's changed his look now, all the girls have been diggin' him," Lizzie said.  
  
"I know! I feel sorry for you, Liz, I mean...what kind of a guy would ask out a pregnant girl?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Gordo would," Lizzie stated.  
  
Miranda was silent for a moment and then said, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Gordo asked me to the dance," Lizzie told her.  
  
"OH MY GOD, are you serious? I mean, I saw you two making out at lunch, but I didn't actually think you guys would like, get married!"  
  
"We are NOT gonna get married, Miranda!" Lizzie said.  
  
"And how do you know that?"  
  
"Because, he's moving, and I am not going for a long distance relationship. Besides, we're fifteen. That's gross."  
  
"And being a pregnant at fifteen isn't gross?" Miranda asked.  
  
"No! I mean...whatever, Miranda. Let's just stop," Lizzie said.  
  
"Fine," Miranda said, "So have you thought of any baby names?"  
  
"Miranda, it's way too early for that."  
  
"So? It's fun."  
  
"Fine," Lizzie sighed.  
  
"Okay. So what names do you like for girls?"  
  
"Uh...I like...I think...probably Rachel, or maybe Abigail..." Lizzie told her.  
  
"So is this baby gonna take Gordo's last name?" Miranda asked.  
  
"I guess..."   
  
"I like the name Alexandra."  
  
"Alexandra...Alex, Ally...ew. No, I don't like that," Lizzie said.  
  
"Why not? I love that name..."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Do you want a girl? I mean, well, in my opinion, you're not the type of person to have a son. Sorry Liz, you're just...I don't know how to explain it, but I cannot see you with a baby boy."  
  
"Of course I want a girl, and no, I don't see myself with a boy, either," Lizzie said.  
  
"I wonder what this kid is gonna look like...I mean, he or she could end up with blue eyes and blonde hair...or he or she could end up with hazel eyes and brown hair. Or maybe she would have blue eyes and blonde curls, or straight brown and hazel, or maybe blue eyes and straight brown..."  
  
"Okay, okay, Miranda! I get it!" Lizzie interrupted.  
  
"Alright, what other names do you like for a girl?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Either Emily, or Natalie, I guess. Emily...Em, err....Natalie, Nat..."  
  
"Lizzie! I need the phone to call Melina," Matt's voice said.  
  
"Matt! Get off the phone!" Lizzie shrieked.  
  
"It's okay, Liz, I gotta go eat anyways," Miranda said, "Adios!"  
  
"Bye..."  
  
Click. 


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine  
  
A/N: Okay, I feel like writing so much today, so I am working on a songfic at the moment. Anyways, here's chapter nine, I don't like this chapter at all, but I can do whatever I want with the story, cuz it's MINE, so there. Lol. Anyways, after chapter ten, the story's going to start to unravel. I've mixed a bunch of plots together to make something really different, well nto really different, but whatever. Anyways, keep reviewing! Luv ya guys! Mwah!  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
A week later...  
  
"So, David, how was school today?" Gordo's mother, Roberta, asked her son at the dinner table.  
  
"Fine," Gordo said.  
  
"We have some news for you, son," Gordo's father, Howard, began.  
  
"Oh, no, please, I don't need to know," Gordo said as he took a sip of water.  
  
"David, we're going to Massachussets Friday night to look at our new house. We'll be gone until Tuesday," Roberta told him.  
  
"What!?" Gordo shouted.  
  
"David, I'm sorry, but this is the only weekend we have off this month," Howard said.  
  
"That is NOT fair! I have a dance on Saturday!" Gordo protested.  
  
"Then you ill have to cancel your plans," Roberta said.  
  
"Whatever," Gordo grumbled. He stood up and ran up to his room.  
  
"Aw, man," he said to himself, "Might as well dump Lizzie now."  
  
He grabbed his phone and dialed Lizzie's number.  
  
"Hello?" Lizzie answered.  
  
"Hey, it's me," Gordo said.  
  
"Oh, hi," Lizzie said.  
  
"How ya feelin'?"   
  
"Why does everyone ask me that?"  
  
"Because, you're pregnant."  
  
"So? What's that gotta do with anything?"  
  
"I haven't a clue."  
  
"I still haven't found a dress for the dance," Lizzie said.  
  
"....Yeah, that. There's something I gotta tell you."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, my parents just told me that we're going to Massachussets on Friday. I'll be gone all weekend," Gordo told her.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Yeah. They keep doing this," Gordo said quietly.  
  
"Doing what?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Ruining my life, basically. I mean, they tell me we're moving to another state and they think I'm alright with it. They don't even care about my life in Hillridge," Gordo told her, "It's like they think they can just drop me like a rag doll in any random place, and I won't care."  
  
"That sucks, Gordo....at least I don't have to spend money on a dress..."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Look, Gordo? I gotta go...Gammy McGuire's over and she want to talk to the baby..." Lizzie said.  
  
"What?" Gordo asked.  
  
"I mean, talk to my stomach...but yeah, I gotta go. Bye, Gordo..."   
  
"Bye." 


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten  
  
A/N: Hey! I know the last chapters weren't all that good, but whatever. I'm going to skip ahead to a later part in the story where Gordo actually leaves....so this chapter is gonna be a little L/G. So yeah.  
  
**Important:** Oh, yeah, and I REALLY need some help with something. When you guys review, could you do me a huge moochola (luv that word if it even is one) favor and when (or if) you review, could ou please tell me what names you like for either a boy or a girl? Cuz I can't think of baby names. When this story first started out, I had a name chosen, but then I realized that I already had used it somewhere, and I don't like using the same thing over and over again. So could ou please do that if you review? Tell me the names you like for a girl or a boy. I am not going to tell the gender of the baby! I already have it picked out, I just need a name! So if ou could do that for me, that would be greatly appreciated! It's kinda like a contest! So yeah.......  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
A few months later...  
  
RIIIING.   
  
"Leave me alone," Lizzie grumbled. She grabbed another pillow and stuffed her head under it.  
  
Today was the day.  
  
And Lizzie knew it.  
  
Gordo was moving.  
  
He was leaving Hillridge.  
  
Lizzie rolled over and looked at her alarm clock. The time was 8:38.  
  
She sat up and looked around her room. She hadn't spoken to Gordo for a week. Gordo had been busy packing, and Lizzie's family had come over to visit.  
  
She looked down at her stomach. Her stomach was getting pretty round. She still didn't know what Gordo thought about the baby.  
  
_Oh, man_, Lizzie thought. _Gordo's leaving at nine. I better hurry and get to his place to say goodbye to him...  
_  
She jumped out of bed and took a shower. She got out and changed into a red t-shirt and black track pants. She bunched her hair up and pulled it into a loose ponytail. Then she ran downstairs out the door.  
  
She approached Gordo's house and found him watching two huge moving men load the van with his stuff.  
  
"Gordo!" Lizzie gasped, out of breath.  
  
He turned around. "Hey."  
  
"I just came...to say goodbye."  
  
"Oh...kay," Gordo said. He was staring at her.  
  
"What?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"N-nothing..."  
  
"David!" Gordo's mother called from the car, "Come on! We're leaving now."  
  
"Just a sec," Gordo told her. He turned his attention back to Lizzie.  
  
"Look, Gordo, I don't have much time," Lizzie said to him, "My parents want to take us to some stupid museum in some other city, and we have to leave at ten."  
  
"Um, okay..."  
  
The two just stood there in an awkward silence.  
  
"I'm going to miss you, Gordo," Lizzie finally spoke up.  
  
"I'm going to miss you, too."  
  
"Call me, okay?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"This is gonna suck, I mean, imagine living a life without knowing your father," Lizzie said, referring to the baby.  
  
"Yeah," Gordo whispered.  
  
"DAVID!" Roberta screeched.  
  
"I-I gotta go..." Gordo said, "But I don't want to."  
  
"I don't want you to, either," Lizzie said, forcing back tears.  
  
"Bye..."  
  
"Bye."   
  
Gordo started walking toward his dad's car when Lizzie grabbed onto his shirt and turned him around.  
  
"Best friends forever," Lizzie told him before placing a kiss on his lips.  
  
The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Gordo's mother screamed at him again. He pulled away and whispered, "Best friends forever."  
  
Lizzie smiled.  
  
Gordo smiled back.  
  
And then he turned around and got into his car, after taking one last glance at his best friend.  
  
Lizzie watched the car and the moving van pull out of the driveway, and then disappear down the street. Once they turned the corner, Lizzie turned around and trudged back home.  
  
_That's it, she thought to herself, He's gone..._


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven  
  
A/N: Okay, for the next couple of chapters, it's kinda gonna be through Gordo's POV. Well, not really. It's not him actually telling the story, it's just telling what happens when he moves to Massachusetts. I need to write these chapters because it introcudes a new character. And I don't know anything about Massachusetts, so I can make stuff up if I want to, because this is my story, so there.  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Gordo walked through the schoolyard of his new school. Everyone was staring at him. It was so awkward, being in a new state, and having to hang around in some place where everyone looks at you like you're a slug.   
  
Well, not everyone looked at Gordo like he was a slug. There was one person who always smiled at him whenever he waked by.  
  
And her name was Brooke Morgan.  
  
Brooke, in Gordo's opinion, was beautiful. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he likes Lizzie, but he decided that he needed to start off fresh.   
  
Brooke was about Gordo's height, which was pretty tall, since Gordo had a growth spurt the year before. She had long brunette hair, green eyes, and fair skin. She carried around tons of books and she was pretty quiet. Yet, she was pretty popular.  
  
Every now and then, Gordo would hear some senior walk up to Brooke and say something like, "Could I put my meat in your taco?"  
  
And Brooke, with a disgusted look on her face, would say back, "No, thank you, I'm a vegetarian," and walk past him.  
  
Brooke was in most of Gordo's classes, though they have never spoken to each other.  
  
Gordo walked up to his locker, and pulled on the door. It wouldn't budge.  
  
"Oh, come on," he whispered. He pulled harder.  
  
After five minutes of pulling, he finally got it open. But he had pulled it so hard that he ended up hitting himself in the face and fell onto the ground.  
  
"Oh, my god, are you alright!?"  
  
_That voice...it had to be...  
  
No.  
  
Why would Brooke talk to me?_ Gordo asked himself.  
  
"Yeah," Gordo mumbled.  
  
"Here, let me help you up," Brooke said, outstretching her hand.  
  
Gordo stared at it for a minute before grabbing onto it. She pulled him up and said, "These lockers are really old. They always get stuck."  
  
"Oh.." Gordo said.  
  
"Your name's David Gordon, right?"   
  
"Yeah...but my friends call me Gordo. I mean...my old friends...I don't have any friends here," Gordo told her.  
  
"Now you do," Brooke said simply.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I'm your friend now, if that's okay with you."  
  
"Yeah, that'd be...great," Gordo said.  
  
Brooke smiled.  
  
And Gordo smiled back.  
  
A/N: I know that chapter was short, but that doesn't really matter right now. I'm in the middle of writing the next one now. 


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve  
  
A/N: Okay, I hate filling in the blanks, when there's nothing to really write about, so I am kinda skipping ahead. And please keep reviewing. Oh, and guess what? I know it's only been like ONE DAY, but I decided on a name. I don't know why, but I just love this name...I'm going to tell you what the name is though. And it's pretty obvious why. I don't know exactly how to write the part where Lizzie gives birth or whatever, so I am just gonna do something different, because, as you know, this is my story, and I can do whatever I want. Anyways, here's chapter eleven, and chapter twelve is coming later tonight.  
  
There is a cliffhanger at the end, and guess what the best part about that is?  
  
You can read the next chapter, so we're all good!  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
July 2004  
  
"Hey, Gordo, wait up!"  
  
Gordo turned around to see his girlfriend, Brooke Morgan, run up to him from the food court of the mall.  
  
"Hey," he said.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked, grabbing Gordo's hand.  
  
"Just hanging around," Gordo told her, "You?"  
  
"My mom wanted me to get something for her at some stupid makeup store," Brooke told him.  
  
Ever since Gordo and Brooke had first spoken, they had become inseperable. Gordo finally decided to drop his feelings for Lizzie, and move on to someone else.....like Brooke. One day, he went up to Brooke and asked her out. Brooke answered with a "Yes!" before he could even finish what he was saying. They'd been going out ever since.  
  
"Have you seen Charlie lately?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Nope, I think he still has strep throat," Brooke said, stopping by a store and stared at some purses in the window.  
  
"Oh," Gordo said.  
  
Charlie Robinson was Gordo's new best friend. Besides Brooke. A couple months after Gordo moved, Brooke had convinced him to join a few clubs, where he made a bunch of new friends.  
  
"Hey, it's July, isn't it?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Yeah...." Gordo said slowly, as if Brooke was stupid.  
  
"Yeah! It's July, Gordo!"  
  
"So...?"  
  
"So!? Your baby's gonna be due soon and all you can say is 'So'?"  
  
Brooke knew all about Lizzie, and what had happened between the two of them. Gordo had told her a week after they had become officially boyfriend/girlfriend. Brooke didn't seem to think much of it. She seemed really supportive about it.  
  
"Oh...I completely forgot," Gordo told her.  
  
"How can you forget, Gordo? It's your baby, too. Not just Lizzie's..." Brooke said.  
  
"I know, I'm not a moron."  
  
The couple continued walking through the mall until Brooke looked at her watch and said, "It's six o'clock. I gotta go..."  
  
"Oh, in that case, I'll walk you home," Gordo said.  
  
So the two walked home together in silence. When they approached Brooke's doorstep Gordo placed a kiss on Brooke's cheek.  
  
"Call me, okay?" Brooke said.  
  
"Okay."  
  
A few minutes later, Gordo walked through the front door of his house. He went into the dining room where he found his parents, drinking tea.  
  
"Hello, David," Roberta said cheerfully, "Have a seat." She smiled.  
  
"Yes, sit down, son," Howard gestured to the chair beside him.  
  
Gordo stared at his parents for what seemed an eternity. "Alright, what's this all about?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all," Roberta said, "So how was your trip to the mall?"  
  
"I ran into Brooke, nothing big," Gordo replied.  
  
"Ooooh, you know, David, you should cherish life. It goes by so quickly. Life is a gift," Roberta told him.  
  
"Okaaaaay..."  
  
"Your mother's right, son," Howard chimed in, "You know, every day a child is born." He said the last bit slowly, as if he was trying to tell Gordo something.  
  
"Are you feeling alright?" Gordo asked.  
  
"We're fine, better than ever!" Roberta said as she took a sip of her tea.  
  
"You sure?" Gordo asked.  
  
Roberta decided to let it go. He's never going to get the message, she thought as she turned to her husband.  
  
"So, what else did Jo say to you on the telephone?" Howard asked, completely ignoring his son.  
  
"Well, I asked her how she got our number, and she told me that Gabriella gave it to her," Roberta told him.  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"Yes, it is."   
  
Roberta turned to Gordo.  
  
"David, you may go to your room and do something," Roberta said to him.  
  
"No, thanks, I'm fine where I am," Gordo smiled.  
  
"Alright," Roberta said.  
  
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Roberta said, "Oh, come on, David, how could you be so clueless!?"  
  
"What'd I do?" Gordo asked.  
  
"For goodness sake, David!" Howard said.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Your daughter was born last night and all you can think about is how hot Brooke looked today, am I wrong!?" Roberta shouted. 


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen  
  
A/N: Sorry for not updating for a couple of days...lol. I had tons of homework. Anyways, here's chapter thirteen.  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
"W-what?" Gordo asked, completely shocked.  
  
"I bet all you're thinking about at the moment is how hot your girlfriend looked today, am I wrong?" Roberta repeated.  
  
"No, not that, the first part."  
  
"Lizzie went into labour yesterday," Gordo's mother told him, "She gave birth to a healthy baby girl at around 11:30 last night."  
  
"Oh...and...it's a...." Gordo stammered.  
  
"It's a girl," Howard said. He smiled.  
  
"And now you're being all supportive about this?" Gordo asked.  
  
"We've always been supportive, David, why would you think that we weren't?"   
  
"Because....you guys just..."  
  
"David, we will always love you, no matter what mistakes you make, we'll always love you," Roberta assured him, "And we love our granddaughter."  
  
"Riiiight," Gordo said sarcastically.  
  
"David! Don't be rude to your mother!"  
  
"I wasn't!"  
  
"Let's just stop arguing," Roberta said.  
  
"Yes, let's stop," Howard agreed.  
  
"So? What's her name?" Gordo asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"Natalie Joanna Gordon," Roberta told him, "What a beautiful name. Can you believe it, David? You have a daughter."  
  
"Yeah...."  
  
Suddenly they heard the phone ring in the next room. Gordo left his parents and picked up the reciever.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, it's me. Why didn't you call?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Oh, well, I was kinda talking to my parents about something," Gordo told her.  
  
"I see," Brooke said, "I was wondering, do you wanna come over and watch a movie or something?"  
  
"Sure, I guess," Gordo replied, "What time?"  
  
"Oooo...I was thinking about....now? I mean, we need time to....do stuff...before the movie...."  
  
"Like...?"  
  
"Make out," Brooke said shyly, "We hardly ever do that anymore."  
  
"Fine," Gordo said.  
  
"So...?"   
  
"'So' what?"  
  
"What's up with Lizzie? Have you heard from her?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Why do you keep asking me this?"  
  
"Because," Brooke replied, "I wanna know."  
  
"Fine," Gordo said, "I'll tell you when I come over, alright?"  
  
"So you have heard from her!"  
  
"Why are you so obsessed with this?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Because I just wanna know whether or not I have a future step-child," Brooke answered.  
  
Gordo laughed. "You really think we're going to get married? I mean, we're fifteen. We have a whole life to plan out."  
  
"You can always plan ahead," Brooke said.  
  
"Wait a minute," Gordo said, "Someone's trying to get through the other line."  
  
"Alright," Brooke said.  
  
Gordo switched over and said, "Hello?"  
  
"....Gordo?"  
  
Gordo hesitated.  
  
What the....?  
  
Is this her?  
  
Really her?  
  
"...Lizzie?" 


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen  
  
A/N: There's not much to say here. Here's chapter fourteen. I wasn't originally going to put this in, but I have to. Sorry this chapter is short, but it's really late and I have to get to bed.  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
"G-Gordo," Lizzie stammered. She sounded happy.  
  
"Hi!" Gordo said excitedly.  
  
"How are you doing?"  
  
"Great!"  
  
"Omigod, I'm so happy to be talking to you!"  
  
"Same!"  
  
"I sound so hyper right now, sorry 'bout that!" Lizzie said.  
  
"You don't. How are you feeling?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Tired," Lizzie answered, "So your parents told you?"  
  
"Yeah," Gordo said, "That's awesome. Wow, a girl..."  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie replied, "A baby girl. Man, Gordo, you should see her! She's adorable...she's got your eyes..."  
  
"Wow, does Miranda know?"  
  
"Yeah. My mom called her mom this morning....and when they came Miranda screamed and almost got in trouble."  
  
Gordo laughed. "So you're calling from the hospital, right?" he asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"So...her name's Natalie, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. I love that name. It's my cousin's name. Oh, and my friend that I met at that creepy school for teen parents, Kristie, she's here right now, she's great, you have to meet her. She's got a kid, a baby boy, he was born last month."  
  
"Cool," Gordo said.  
  
"And her husband, she chose to get married to him, his name's Ashley...when I first met her I asked her if she was married, and she was like 'Yeah. I'm Mrs. Ashley Ashworth,' and I was like, 'What!?' and she said, 'Everyone I know has said that to me when I told them his name. It's a guy. 'Cause if he was a girl than I wouldn't be pregnant. He was named after his great-grandfather or something...' It was pretty funny. But yeah, I've met lots of new people," Lizzie said.  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Oh, and Brooke, Brooke had a girl last week, and Parker had a boy two days ago," Lizzie told him.  
  
"Oh, really?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, man, everyone I know is a couple...Ethan and Kate, Miranda and Larry, Brooke and Ryan, Parker and Ben, Kristie and Ashley....I'm just a loner," Lizzie said.  
  
"Oh, shoot, Liz, sorry, but my friend Brooke's on the other line...I'm going to her house in a minute, so maybe I'll call you back...I still have your number," Gordo told her.  
  
"Oh, okay then, bye...I miss ya," Lizzie said.  
  
"Miss you, too," Gordo said and switched back to Brooke.  
  
"Brooke? You still there?" he asked.  
  
"Finally! Who was on the other line?"  
  
"I'll tell you when I come over, alright? See ya," Gordo said as he hung up the phone. 


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen  
  
A/N: Okay, I really hate myself now, because I changed the name of the baby to Natalie. I know I've used it before, but when I first thought of this story, the original name was going to be Natalie, and I don't want to keep changing this story. I don't like the name Desiree as much as I used to, it doesn't fit the character (for later chapters). So yeah.  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
Gordo stepped up to Brooke's front porch and rang the doorbell.  
  
Brooke opened and the door and smiled. "Hey! Come on in," she said.  
  
Gordo smiled back and stepped inside.  
  
"So? What happened?" Brooke asked.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, it seems like something's up."  
  
"Fine. I'll tell you. Let's just sit down first."  
  
The two walked down the hall and into the living room. Brooke sat down on the couch and Gordo sat beside her.  
  
"So?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Lizzie had the baby last night, that's all," Gordo told her.  
  
"Omigod! Omigod! Omigod!!!" Brooke shrieked. She reached over and squeezed her boyfriend.  
  
"Brooke, Brooke! I can't breathe!" Gordo shouted.  
  
Broke pulled away and said, "Sorry. But omigod!! Is it a girl? Or a boy?"  
  
"It's a girl," Gordo said.  
  
"Omigod!!" Brooke screamed.  
  
"Brooke! How much sugar have you had today?"  
  
"None. What's her name?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Natalie," Gordo said.  
  
"What a CUTE name! Like omigod!!" Brooke squealed.  
  
"How come before today you have never said the word 'omigod'?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Because, omigod, Gordo, this baby's my future step-daughter!"  
  
"We had this conversation earlier," Gordo said.  
  
"She's gonna be my step-daughter!"  
  
"Since when did I propose to you?"  
  
"You have to propose to me between the ages of 22 and 25," Brooke told him.  
  
Gordo replied with a blank stare.  
  
"What?" Brooke giggled as she hit him with a pillow.  
  
"Are we going to watch this movie or not?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Why do you always want to do something boring?"  
  
"Why did you call me up and invite me over to watch a movie?"  
  
"Because," Brooke said, "I wanted to be with you."  
  
"We hung out half the day today," Gordo reminded her.  
  
"I know. But now that my parents are out for their anniversary, we can have some fun," Brooke said as she leaned in towards him.  
  
Their lips met for a brief moment, but then the doorbell rang, forcing them to pull apart. Brooke stood up and answered the door.  
  
"Hey!" Brooke's friend, Peyton, shrieked, "I haven't you in, like, a week!"  
  
"I know! Because you were in Puerto Rico, remember?"  
  
"Duh!"  
  
The girls jumped up and down, shrieking. Gordo walked up behind Brooke and stared at them.  
  
"Hey," Seth, Gordo's friend, said, "Peyton's crazy as ever."  
  
"Then why did you ever go out with her?" Gordo asked.  
  
"It was one date!"  
  
"But you still asked her out."  
  
"I know, I was weird back then."  
  
"And you're not anymore?"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
The girls stopped their shrieking and then turned to the guys. "Let's go watch that movie!" Brooke said.  
  
"Alright," everyone agreed.  
  
So they went back into the living room and started to watch the movie, but then got tired of it and ended up talking for two hours.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen  
  
A/N: You know what I hate about this story? I don't use POV. And when I don't use POV, there is no detail whatsoever. I am going to use waaay more detail now. Personally, when you use POV, there is more detail because it tells the character's feelings, and their outlook on life. I'm going to use some POV in my other stories now, but for this story, I am not using POV.  
  
Sorry this chapter is kinda short, but at least is has more detail than the other chapters...in my opinion.  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
Three years later, back in Hillridge...  
  
Lizzie stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, and her tank top had several holes in it. She had been sick for two weeks with strep throat, and she hadn't changed out of her pajamas that whole time.  
  
For the past two years, she hadn't seen much of Miranda, since they both went to different schools. They hung out as much as they could. Lizzie introduced Miranda to her friend Kristie, who she met at her school, and and they became friends instantly. They became a trio, but with Lizzie's daughter and Kristie's son thrown in.  
  
Lizzie picked up a brush and ran it through her hair. She turned around to go to her closet for a shirt, but stopped when she saw a small figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"Morning, Mommy," Natalie said.  
  
"Good morning, sweetie," Lizzie greeted.  
  
"Today me see Ryan, Mommy?"  
  
"Yes, sweetie, of course you'll get to see Ryan," Lizzie told her.  
  
Ryan Ashworth was Kristie's son. He and Natalie were inseperable. They reminded Lizzie of she and Gordo when they were little.  
  
"Yay!" Natalie cheered and clapped her hands. Her dark brown curls bounced up and down, and she looked up at her mother. "We get ice cream?"  
  
"Yes, but not right now, later," Lizzie said as she walked over to her bed. Natalie remained in the doorway.  
  
"Yesterday my birthday," Natalie said. She smiled.  
  
"Yes, it was, my little angel's three years old now," Lizzie said as she smiled back. She held out her arms, and Natalie ran into her arms.  
  
"Grandma maked cake?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, sweetie, of course she made cake, after all, who's birthday was it yesterday?"   
  
"Mine!"  
  
"Yes, it is!" Lizzie said and kissed her daughter on the top of her head. At that moment, Lizzie's mother called her from downstairs.  
  
"Lizzie! Breakfast is ready!"  
  
"Pam-cakes?" Natalie asked, referring to pancakes.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Oooooh!" Natalie ran out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Be careful, Natalie, no running! Mommy's gonna be down there in a minute!" Lizzie called out.  
  
She sighed and stood up. She tripped over a couple of Natalie's toys on her way, but managed to get to her closet. She opened it up and stared at the inside of it.  
  
I have to clean this out sometime, she thought.  
  
There were clothes scattered everywhere, half was Lizzie's clothes and the other half was Natalie's old things. After Natalie turned two, Lizzie went into her room and she cleaned out the whole closet, taking clothes that wouldn't fit anymore, and she put them in her closet. Most of the clothes represented something in Natalie's life, like the baby blue dress she wore the day she took her first steps. Or the shirt she wore when she said her first words. Even though some of the memories weren't really big ones, Lizzie wanted to cherish everything in her daughter's life.  
  
"MOMMY!!!!"  
  
Lizzie snapped out of her thoughts. "I'm coming! And no screaming!" she called back to her daughter.  
  
She reached into the closet and grabbed a red t-shirt. She pulled it over her tank top and put on her slippers, then went downstairs to join her family for breakfast. 


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen  
  
A/N: Hey, nothing much to say here. This chapter is short cuz I gotta go do homework.  
  
Hilaryrocks101: if you read the A/N for chapter sixteen, then it will explain what was up with the baby name. I changed it to Natalie, my explanation is in that A/N. So go there.  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Lizzie walked into the kitchen and instantly got hit in the face with glob of yogurt. She gasped and Jo handed her a paper towel. Lizzie took it, and wiped her face off. She through out the paper towel, turned around, and glared at Natalie.  
  
"What did I say about throwing yogurt?" she asked.  
  
"Sorry, Mommy," Natalie whimpered, giving Lizzie puppy-eyes.  
  
Lizzie hesitated. "Oh man, you're just to cute to yell at," she said, as she walked over and kissed her daughter on the cheek.  
  
"Sit down, Mommy, eat beckfast," Natalie said and pointed to the chair beside her.  
  
Lizzie sat down and Jo walked over and placed a plate of pancakes in front of Lizzie. Lizzie cut one up into small pieces and put the plate in front of Natalie, who started picking at the pancake with her fork. Suddenly she stopped and looked at her mother.  
  
"Juice," she said.  
  
"Apple or orange?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"O-wenge!"  
  
Lizzie stood up and walked over to the fridge. She looked for the orange juice but couldn't find any. She looked up and said, "Natalie, honey, we only have apple."  
  
Natalie made a face. "Yucky," she said, sticking out her tongue.  
  
"Then I guess you'll have to have milk," Lizzie told her.  
  
"_No!_ O-wenge juice!"  
  
"Sweetie, right now you're gonna have to have milk. Tomorrow I'll get you orange juice, alright?" Lizzie said.  
  
"NO!" Natalie screamed.  
  
Lizzie looked through the fridge, then turned around, holding a carton of chocolate milk. "How about _chocolate_ milk?" she asked.  
  
Natalie's eyes widened. "Oooh!" She clapped her hands.  
  
Lizzie smiled, then took out a sippy cup and poured some chocolate milk into it. Then she put the cap on and handed it to her daughter.  
  
Natalie sucked the chocolate milk down and Lizzie turned to her mother. "Mom, Miranda and I wanted to go see a movie later, so could you-"  
  
"Babysit?" Jo finished.  
  
"Please."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Alright, I'll call Miranda and tell her I've got that covered," Lizzie said as she picked up to phone, and began dialing her best friend's number.

A/N: sorry that was short! I've got a huge pile of homework that I have to go do, I'll update later. bye! 


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen  
  
A/N: I haven't been updating in the last couple of days because I had soo much homework. Here's the next chapter, sorry if it's short.  
  
Man! My longest story! I have no idea how long this is going to be...but really long....  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
  
One week later...  
  
Lizzie and Miranda were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. They had been talking through most of it, as usual. Whenever they hung out they always found themselves talking about everything. Well, almost everything.  
  
"Lizzie?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you miss Gordo?"  
  
"...Of course I do, Miranda, I mean, this is Gordo we're talking about..."  
  
"Did you like him, Liz?" Miranda questioned.  
  
"Of course I like him! He's my best friend, and the father of my daughter!"  
  
"No, I mean like like."  
  
"I-I-I..no..."  
  
"Riiight, like I'm gonna believe that."  
  
"Fine! You caught me! But it doesn't matter, anyways, for all I know he probably has a girlfriend," Lizzie snapped. She tucked a loose curl behind her ear.  
  
"You could always call him..."  
  
"It's been three years! I don't even have his number!"  
  
"Mommy," a small voice whimpered from the doorway.  
  
Lizzie looked up and saw Natalie standing there, in her pajamas, holding her favourite teddy bear.  
  
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I can't sleep," Natalie told her.  
  
"Of course you can, babe, all you gotta do is try," Lizzie said.  
  
"I have tried, Mommy, and nothing works."  
  
"Alright, come here," Lizzie said, opening her arms, and Natalie rushed into them. Lizzie picked her up and set her daughter on her lap. She glanced at the digital clock beside the couch. The time was 10:48. The movie was supposed to end soon.  
  
"I can't believe how much she looks like Gordo," Miranda pointed out.  
  
"I know," Lizzie said, playing with Natalie's dark brown curls. Natalie felt this and shot her head up, to see what was touching her. Her blue eyes met her mother's hazel ones, and she smiled. Lizzie smiled back down at her, and kissed Natalie's forehead.  
  
"If I had to picture Gordo as a girl, I would see Natalie," Miranda said with a slight chuckle.  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie laughed softly, as she grabbed a blanket that was sitting beside her. She spread it out on top of Natalie, who was sound asleep.  
  
"We better be quiet now," Miranda nearly whispered.  
  
"Uh, huh, I'm gonna bring her up soon," Lizzie told her.  
  
"How long does it take for your parents to go out for dinner?"  
  
"It's their anniversary, Miranda, they're probably somewhere getting it on."  
  
"EW! Lizzie! You're sick," Miranda whispered.  
  
"I was just joking!" Lizzie said as if it were obvious.  
  
"You know what, Lizzie, I think you baby Natalie a bit too much," Miranda said, changing the subject.  
  
"I know, but she's my only daughter, she's my lil baby," Lizzie said. She looked at the clock again, then stood up slowly and whispered, "I'm gonna go put her back to bed now. I'll be a minute."  
  
"'Kay."  
  
Lizzie carried Natalie upstairs to her bedroom. Natalie's room was the old guestroom, and it was filled with toys, and Lizzie nearly tripped when she entered the room. She brought Natalie over to her bed, then set her down and covered her with a couple of blankets. Then she put another stuffed animal beside her, along with her favourite bear. Then she silently crept out of the room. Just before she closed the door, she looked back and whispered, "'Night, Nat. I love you."  
  
A few minutes later, she and Miranda got around to talking again. They had turned the movie off so they wouldn't disturb Natalie.  
  
"Lizzie, what would happen to Natalie if something ever happened to you?" Miranda asked.  
  
Lizzie hesitated. "Well, I guess I'd give her to Gordo. I mean, she's his child, too."  
  
"But he's in Massachussets," Miranda reminded her.  
  
"Then we'd just have to call him," Lizzie replied.  
  
"Wouldn't your mom just get her?"  
  
"But my mom is my mom, and Gordo is Nat's dad," Lizzie explained, "There's a big difference. Not to be rude to my mom or anything."  
  
"I know what you mean," Miranda said. "You know what's kind of weird?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How when Natalie's ten, you're gonna be twenty-five," Miranda told her, "And when you're thirty-four, Natalie's gonna be nineteen."  
  
"That does sound a little strange," Lizzie said, "I'm going to be the youngest mother in her class."  
  
Miranda laughed. "Not if you lie about your age."  
  
"Yeah, really. Hey, I'm Lizzie McGuire, I'm 47. Or 50. Wait, screw that, I'm 58."  
  
Miranda laughed again. "Shut up."  
  
"You shut up. You're the one who brought it up."  
  
"Whatever," Miranda said. She looked at the clock. "I think I better be going home now."  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie said. The two friends stood up and walked to the door.   
  
"G'night." Miranda gave a little wave and stepped outside.  
  
"'Night."  
  
Lizzie closed the door, and then decided to turn in. She walked upstairs, took one last check-up on Natalie, then went to bed. 


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen  
  
A/N: Hey. Sorry I haven't updated. It took me a few days to write this chapter. And yet, it's still short.  
  
Oh, yeah, I changed the song in Chapter Four and I updated a couple of important things in the prologue. Small things, but they are pretty important.  
  
Chapter Nineteen  
  
**_A Few Years Later..._**  
  
"I can't believe this, we're out of college! We're free adults!" Brooke Morgan cheered.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," David Gordon said.  
  
"Oh, come on, lighten up!"  
  
Gordo looked up from the papers he was reading. Brooke was standing in front of him, smiling. Over the past few years, Brooke had changed. She had cut her dark brown hair to just a bit past her shoulders, and it was layered. She had grown out her bangs. She was a bit taller, but David was still taller than her, ever since he had another growth spurt a couple of years ago. His eyes moved down to Brooke's left hand, where a diamond ring sparkled. Brooke followed his stare, then smiled once again. "When are you gonna order the wedding cake?" she asked.  
  
"I thought you were," Gordoreplied.  
  
"Nooo, you said you were going to," Brooke told him.  
  
"No, I didn't. Besides, I'm too busy anyways. I'm going back to Hillridge on Thursday, remember? I have to go to my cousin's wedding."  
  
"But Thursday's my ultrasound, and you're not goonna be there," Brooke complained.  
  
"I'm sure we'll have more than one kid, Brooke. Now could you please move out of the way so I can actually see the TV screen?"  
  
Brooke plopped down on the couch next to Gordo and snuggled into him. He placed his arm around her shoulder and they remained silent for the next five minutes.   
  
"Gordo?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Maybe you'll see Lizzie McGuire when you go back to Hillridge," Brooke said.  
  
"Maybe," Gordo replied. "It's possible. But she might have moved somewhere else, like Canada."  
  
"Canada!? Why in God's name would she move there?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"She still has your daughter, Gordo," Brooke reminded him.  
  
"I know, I'm not an idiot," Gordo said.  
  
"I never said you were, though," Brooke replied. "How old is she now, anyways?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Your daughter!"  
  
"Probably six or seven," Gordo told her.  
  
"Whoah!"  
  
"'Whoah' what?"  
  
"I don't know, now let's just watch the rest of this movie in peace," Brooke said, as she snuggled into Gordo once again.  
  
They sat there for the next hour, in silence, just watching the movie in their apartment.  
  
_**The Next Thursday...**_  
  
"Bye, Gordo," Brooke said to her fiancee.  
  
"Bye, I'll be back by next Wednesday," Gordo told her, and he kissed her cheek before he stepped out the door on his way back to Hillridge.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty  
  
A/N: Okay, finally, I have had this story written out in my head for the past month, and this is one of the most important chapters. So, here you go.  
  
**Chapter Twenty**  
  
Gordo was walking through the park in Hillrdige. His cousin Amanda made him walk her dog for her.  
  
He was looking around, noticing all of the changes that had been made since he had left. Suddenly, a little girl popped out of nowhere and asked, "Can I pet your dog?"  
  
"Uh..." Gordo stammered, a bit startled, "Sure."  
  
The girl reached out and ran her hand down the cocker spaniel's back. As she was doing this, Gordo examined her. She had dark brown hair, which was long and wavy. She had sparkling blue eyes that matched his. She was dressed in a red sweatshirt and jeans. She looked about seven or eight years old. There was no adult with her at all.  
  
"Uh," Gordo began, "Shouldn't you be with your mother?"  
  
The girl looked up at him and said, "Yes. But I can't find her."  
  
_Great,_ Gordo thought, _Now I have to help this girl find her mother.  
  
Oh, just shut up, already! I'm going to be a father soon, so I'm going to have to get used to this!  
  
Seriously, Gordo, you're sounding like a jerk, just be quiet._  
  
"Where was the last place you saw her?"  
  
"She was talking with my Aunt 'Randa. And I was bored because my best friend Ryan just moved to Massa-something. So I just wondered off."  
  
"You mom must be worried about you," Gordo told her.  
  
"I know, of course she's worried. Could you please help me look for her?" the girl asked.  
  
"Of course," Gordo answered. They started walking around the park.  
  
_**Meanwhile...**_  
  
"Miranda, she's gotta be somewhere around here," Lizzie told her best friend.  
  
"Lizzie, it's okay, don't worry, I'm sure Natalie's fine," Miranda assured her.  
  
"But what if some creep takes her away and rapes her?" Lizzie asked, tears filling her eyes.  
  
"Lizzie, you don't have to cry."  
  
Lizzie sniffed and said calmly, "You're right. Now I'm going to go to my car and drive around the outside of the park to see if I can spot her. You stay in the park and look for her."  
  
"All right," Miranda agreed.  
  
Lizzie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she jogged to her car. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys. She unlocked the door, got in the car, and pulled out of her parking spot.  
  
A few minutes later, Gordo and the girl were still searching for her mother. Gordo then realized that he didn't even know what this woman looks like, or even her name. He didn't even know the girl's name.  
  
"So, what does your mother look like?" he asked.  
  
The girl stopped walking and said, "She has blonde hair and she's very pretty."  
  
That's a lot of help, Gordo thought. "What's her name?"  
  
The girl was just about to answer, but she never got the chance because they heard a huge crashing noise. Gordo and the girl turned around and saw two cars that had collided. A blue minivan was crushed and ruined, and in front of that car was a black Honda was almost as bad. A person jumped out of the minivan. It was a man and he had tons of cuts and scrapes from what had just happened. He stumbled around the cars and stopped where he saw the body of a blonde woman, who was covered in blood, lying on the road, like a doll just dropped carelessly by a little girl. The man reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed 911.  
  
Several people began to gather around.  
  
Miranda, who was standing only a few feet behind Gordo and the young girl, screamed. Her best friend had just been t-boned. And she had witnessed it.   
  
Gordo, hearing this, turned around and saw her. "Miranda?"  
  
Miranda's head shot towards him. "G-Gordo! What are you...doing here? And with Natalie?" she asked, noticing the little girl, who was indeed Lizzie's child, standing beside him.  
  
"Nat-Natalie?"  
  
"Yes, that girl...she's Natalie," Miranda told him as she walked up to them.  
  
Gordo looked down at Natalie. "This....this is Natalie?" he asked, realizing who Natalie was.  
  
"Yes! Lizzie's daughter! Your daughter!"  
  
Gordo stared at Miranda in disbelief. "I...I didn't know that this was Natalie, I mean, she came up to me and said she was lost..."  
  
"Aunt 'Randa?" a small voice interrupted.  
  
The two adults looked down at the young girl. "Yes, Nat?" Miranda replied.  
  
"What just happened with those cars?" Natalie asked, pointing to the accident.  
  
"Oh...uh..." Miranda tried to answer, but couldn't seem to find the right words. How can you tell a seven year old that they had just seen their mother get hit by a car?  
  
"Well...let's just say you're not be gonna be seeing Mom for a while," Miranda told her.  
  
"...Why?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Well..." Miranda began, thinking of something to say. She wasn't exactly sure if Lizzie was dead or not, but what if she went into a coma or something? "I'll tell you later, alright?"  
  
"Fine..." Natalie said and she patted Gordo's cousin's dog on the head.  
  
"That...that's Lizzie over there?" Gordo asked Miranda.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Lying on the road? Covered with blood?"  
  
"Yeah..." Miranda answered quietly. "I think we should go over there."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
So the two old friends trudged over to where everyone was gathering. An ambulance arrived a minute later to take Lizzie away. Miranda decided to call the McGuires, and did so with her cell phone. They got the call, jumped into their car, and headed to the hospital, where they would meet Miranda and Gordo.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty-One  
  
A/N: Uhh..if this chapter seems kinda weird or whatever, it's just that I don't really know how to write stuff like this...lol, yeah, I suck. We all know it.  
  
**Chapter Twenty-One  
**  
On their way to the hospital, Miranda drove, and almost got t-boned herself because she had started choking up sobs. Gordo, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to her, brought her back to reality by nudging her a bit. They arrived at the hospital a minute later. Natalie, who was in the back seat, still didn't get what was going on, and asked Miranda, "Aunt Randa, how come we're at the hospital?"  
  
Miranda parked her car and turned around to face the young child. "Well," she sniffed, "Natalie." She hesitated.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Something bad happened to Mom," Miranda began, "But we don't know exactly what's going to happen."  
  
"Who's this man with us?" Natalie asked, referring to Gordo.  
  
"He's-" Miranda stopped, ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "He's a very close friend of mine. And your mom's."  
  
"Ohhh," Natalie said, "Are we gonna go in now?"  
  
Miranda turned to Gordo. She stared at him for a while. "Maybe we could just wait a few more minutes," she whispered to him, "I don't want Natalie to go and see her mother lying half dead."  
  
"She's not half dead," Gordo whispered back.  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
They sat silent for a moment until Miranda remembered something. It was the conversation she had with Lizzie a few years before. The one about if something ever happened to her, and who would get Natalie.  
  
"You know what Lizzie told me?" Miranda whispered.  
  
"What?" Gordo replied.  
  
"A few years ago, I was talking with Lizzie and she said that if something ever happened to her then..." Miranda sniffed, then wiped a tear away from her eye. "Then you would get custody of Natalie," she finished softly.  
  
Gordo didn't reply. He just sat there, staring at his friend for the longest time with a look of puzzlement on his face. _Why should **I** get her?_ he thought, _Well, I am the father...but why would she choose me? I just answered that...If I have to, which I do, then what's Brooke gonna say when I bring a seven year old through the door of our small apartment next week? Will she hate me? No, Brooke's not like that. If she was like that, then why would I be in love with her?_   
  
"It even says so on some document thing that was made when Natalie was like, a year old," Miranda continuted quietly, "I guess Lizzie had already made her choice of who would get her baby. It is a good decision, if I do say so myself."  
  
Gordo just nodded. A million thoughts were running through his head.  
  
"Aunt Randa! Are we just gonna sit here in the car?" Natalie interrupted loudly.  
  
This startled Miranda, for it had been so quiet before. She jumped up in her seat and whipped her head around. She blinked and said calmy, "No, Natalie, we're going to go in right now."  
  
Natalie opened her door and jumped out. "What do we do with this dog?" she asked Gordo.  
  
"Uhh," Gordo began, glancing at Miranda, "I guess we could let him stay in the car. I mean, we're not gonna be long...are we? Because I have to be somewhere by 4."  
  
"It's three forty," Miranda told him, "It took us twenty minutes to get here from across town, the ambulance got here about fifteen minutes ago. And we were sitting in the car for ten minutes. I don't know what's going on. I think the McGuires are in the waiting room or something."  
  
"Yeah, I'll just leave the dog here. I don't care how much time that took, Miranda," Gordo said as he stepped out the car.  
  
They were just about to enter the hospital when Gordo's cell phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" he asked into it, "I thought it was at 4. So? I'm busy. I don't care. No, Amanda. Fine. I'll get a ride there. Bye," Gordo said with a bit of anger in his voice.  
  
"What's up?" Miranda asked.  
  
"My cousin is being a huge bitch about this wedding thing, she wants me to help her mom set up for her wedding rehearsal tonight. She's begging me. I really gotta go," Gordo told Miranda.  
  
Miranda sighed once again and said, "Alright, I'll drive you to wherever you're going. I'll just take Natalie inside first. You go back to the car," Miranda said as she opened the hospital doors for Natalie, who skipped inside.  
  
Gordo nodded and made his way to the car.  
  
_**The Next Morning...**_  
  
Miranda lay in her bed, and stared at the ceiling. She hadn't slept a wink the night before. Her eyes were swollen and her face was red and wet from her tears. She swallowed, and finally sat up. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was 10:30AM. She sighed and buried her face in her hands.  
  
The day before, after she had driven Gordo to his cousin's house, she had gone back to the hospital, where she found the McGuires sobbing uncontrollably. Mrs. McGuire had sniffed and told Miranda the news.  
  
And it wasn't good news.  
  
But it was definetly news, all right.  
  
Lizzie was in a coma.  
  
The girl who Miranda had told her every secret to, given her best fashion tips to, and the girl that Miranda had known since she was four years old was...  
  
Dead?  
  
_No, you couldn't call it that,_ Miranda thought to herself, _But it seems too much like it that it's gotta be that. Except that she's breathing..._  
  
_She's dead, but she's breathing.  
  
No, that doesn't make sense..._  
  
_Oh, whatever, Miranda, she's just unconsious._ Miranda shook her head. Mrs. McGuire had also told her that Lizzie had told her the same thing that she had told Miranda: that Gordo would get custody of Natalie. Miranda told her about the conversation they had. Then Mr. McGuire, who had been quiet for the whole time they were there, spoke up and said that Gordo should definetly get Natalie because he is the father, after all, and that he should become a part of Natalie's life.  
  
"Now I have to tell him," Miranda mumbled. Gordo had given her the phone number where he could be reached at the day before. _I guess I'll call him right after I take a shower,_ she told herself.  
  
So she stood up, then trudged into the bathroom, took her shower, then dried off and put on a bathrobe. She walked back into her room, picked up her phone, and dialed the phone number to tell Gordo what was going on.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two  
  
A/N: Hey, guys! I just felt like writing again, this chapter might suck, I don't know, but I did not kill Lizzie off. The story isn't over yet. You just gotta keep reading it to see what happens...that's if you wanna though.  
  
I know this chapter is short, but who cares, at least it's another chapter.  
  
**Chapter Twenty Two**  
  
_**The next Monday...**_  
  
Gordo drove home in silence. He had chosen not to take a plane to Hillridge, he decided to drive. He was still in a state of shock. The week before, Miranda had called him and told him that Lizzie was in a coma. And that everyone said that he should get custody of Natalie. The McGuires finally convinced him, and then came the next part. Telling Natalie.  
  
She was sitting beside him, in the passenger seat. The back of the car was loaded with her belongings. Natalie knew. She knew that Gordo was her father. Her grandparents had told her, and she didn't quite understand at first. She thought her father was dead. Lizzie hadn't told her that, though. She said that her father lived somewhere else. But Natalie didn't believe it. She thought he didn't exist, therefore, he was dead. It made sense to her, somehow. She was only a seven year old, she wasn't as smart as everyone else.  
  
"Uh...dad?" Natalie asked. It was the first time she had actually called someone 'dad.' She never really knew what it was like to have a father. No Father's Day cards, no birthday cards for him, no "Hey, Dad!" No "Dad, could you help me with this homework?" She only knew what it was like to have a mother. But now...it was all reversed. Now there was no Mother's Day cards, no birthday cards for her mom, no "Mom! What's for dinner?" or "Mom, could I have a friend over?" All of that was gone. She would probably never see her mother again. Now she was moving to a different state, and she had to get used to her new surroundings.  
  
"Yes?" Gordo replied.  
  
"Umm..." Natalie looked out the window, then she turned to face him. "Where do you live?"  
  
"Massachusetts," Gordo told her.  
  
Basically what happened next was that Natalie asked where exactly, and Gordo answered that. Then Natalie started asking tons of questions, and Gordo answered every one of them. They talked for almost an hour, basically about what's been going on in their lives and things like that.  
  
"Dad?"   
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you married?" Natalie asked.  
  
"I'm-" Gordo glanced at his daughter, then he went back to concentrating on driving. "I'm engaged."  
  
"Oh. I also wanted to ask you something else," Natalie said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I know that I was born when you and my mother were like, sixteen," Natalie told him, "And my mom said that you lived somewhere else, because you moved when she was pregnant with me. But how come you guys were never...in love?"  
  
Gordo hesitated. He didn't know what to tell her. He had secretly loved Lizzie...since the fourth grade. He still loved her when they were fifteen. He thought she was beautiful, inside and out. But when he met Brooke, he decided to push his feelings aside, and bring someone new into his life. Now, he was engaged to Brooke, and she was pregnant. _But what is she going to say when I bring Natalie through the door? _he thought._ Our apartment isn't big enough for all of us. But we are moving soon. To that really nice house that used to be Brooke's aunt's..._  
  
"I'll tell you what happened when you're older," Gordo said, "You would understand it better."  
  
"Fine," Natalie sighed. She looked out the window once again.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three  
  
A/N: Hey! Sorry I didn't update for almost a week. I wanted to finish school first. Now that school has been officially over for about...an hour and a half, I decided to write again. Expect another chapter tonight. I'll try to write one. Anyways, here's chapter twenty three.  
  
This chapter sucks major ass, but it's just a short one because I do not want to write this. So this is just some stupid stuff about Brooke's reaction or whatever. Then I'm going to write the next chapter.  
  
**Chapter Twenty Three  
**  
When they finally arrived at Gordo's apartment, he carried most of Natalie's things to his place and she helped out. Brooke had been sitting on the couch when they first came in._  
_  
"Gordo! What the-what's going on? Who's this?" she asked.  
  
Gordo sighed. "This is Natalie," he told her. He explained to her what had happened, and once he was finished, she turned to Natalie with a sympathetic look on her face.  
  
"Ohhh, my gosh, I am so sorry," she said to the seven year old.  
  
Natalie hid behind Gordo.   
  
"She's just shy, I guess," Gordo said, "Or tired...it is late. Wanna go to bed?" he asked Natalie.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Okay, I'll show you your new room," he said. He led her into the guestroom.  
  
"We'll get you all moved in tomorrow, but this is good for now," he told her.  
  
Natalie didn't say anything.  
  
_Oh, man, what should I say to her?_ Gordo thought. _Uhh.....  
_  
Gordo bent down in front of Natalie. "Look," he said softly, "I know this is hard for you. It's hard for everyone. But I guess it's worse for you because you have to live in a new place and you don't know anyone. I know what that's like. I moved here when I was fifteen. Now, uh...how about you go grab your pajams so you can change and get some sleep?"  
  
Natalie nodded, and slowly left the room to get her pajamas.

About half an hour later, Gordo and Brooke were sitting on the couch, talking.  
  
"How was your cousin's wedding?" Brooke asked.  
  
"It wasn't _that_ great," he said.  
  
"Oh....I feel really bad for Natalie."  
  
"Yeah. Same."  
  
"She looks like you," Brooke said.  
  
"I guess."  
  
"But the hair, it's not crazy," Brooke said, and laughed softly.  
  
"Shut up!" Gordo laughed and hit her with a pillow.  
  
"Okay, okay, let's be quiet now," Brooke whispered suddenly, putting the pillow down.  
  
"Yeah, you're right...you know what?" Gordo whispered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed," Gordo said and stood up.  
  
"I'm right behind you," Brooke said, as she got up and grabbed onto Gordo's arm.A/N: Okay, that was really horrible, I gotta go work on my personal site, but I'm going to write more later. Bye! 


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Four  
  
A/N: Hey. Could you do me a favor and review this chapter please? I love reading them. Also, I wanted to get past the 100 mark.....I've never gotten 100 reviews before, so yeah. Here's the next chapter!  
  
**Chapter Twenty Four**

**_Ten years later..._**

Seventeen-year-old Natalie Gordon sat in her desk at school. She payed close attention to the old man standing at the front of the room, who was scribbling down math problems on the blackboard. She looked down at her notebook, which had random thoughts and notes written down.  
  
_Stuff to Do  
  
call Ryan  
  
Thursday: go to movies with Claire and Dierdre while Dad and Brooke go to doctor's to pick up those lame pregnancy booklets  
  
miss charlton reeks of fish  
  
i don't get why Brooke and Dad keep trying to have a kid. she's had three miscarriages, i bet them anything that she's gonna have another one this time.  
  
Diana Rogers is a huge suck-up b!tch  
_  
"Yo, Natalie," Jason Hartman whispered from behind her.  
  
Natalie turned around. "What?"  
  
"Wanna go out with me tonight?"  
  
"No. I have a boyfriend, for the 20th time this month," Natalie whispered back and turned her attention back to the lesson.  
  
Natalie Gordon had grown up to be one of the hottest girls in her high school. She had cut her hair to just below her shoulders, and it was layered. Her hair wasn't anything like her father's curls. She had straight hair, thank God. All of the boys kept asking her out, but no, she had a boyfriend.  
  
His name was Ryan Ashworth.  
  
When Natalie was seven, Ryan and his family had moved to Massachusetts, and when Natalie came to live with her father, she ended up in the same city as Ryan. On Natalie's first day at her new school, Ryan was in her class. She told him the whole story of what had happened to her mother. Ryan's mother, Kristie, met Gordo, and they became very good friends. Then the Gordon's bought a house two doors down from the Ashworths, so everything was good.  
  
But no one had heard from anyone in the past ten years. Miranda hadn't called, the Sanchez's, nor the McGuires. So everyone in Massachusetts figured that they probably took Lizzie off life support or something, and that she was dead.  
  
Suddenly, the bell rang, signalling the end of class. Natalie gathered her things and left the room. She wandered outside, where she saw her friends Claire Watson and Dierdre Hill sitting at their usual lunch table. Natalie rushed over to them and plopped down beside Claire. She pulled out her lunch from her bag and pulled out a Coke, a container of salad, an apple, a bag of Lays, and some kiwi fruit. She didn't buy lunch from the school cafeteria. The old lunch ladies served un-edible stuff. Today, they were serving 'Taco Surprise.' No one ate it, so everyone packed their own lunches.  
  
"So, who asked you out today?" Claire asked.   
  
"Jason Hartman," Natalie stated, opening her can of Coke.  
  
"Oooh, he is such a hottie," Dierdre said. She unzipped her lunch bag, and pulled out a brownie. She bit into it and chewed slowly.  
  
"You always eat your dessert first," Claire said to Dierde. She tapped her Thermos with a spoon.  
  
"Duh," Dierdre replied.   
  
Dierdre and Claire were complete opposites. Claire had long auborn hair, that was curly. She kept her fingernails trimmed, and her teeth clean. She ate hardly any junk food, she exercised every day, and showered every day. She kept her clothes organized, her books organized, and everything else organized. She wore clothes that didn't show off too much skin, and none of her attire had a single wrinkle in it.  
  
Dierdre, on the other hand, wore her long blond hair in a loose ponytail each day. She took showers three times a week, she bit her fingernails to stumps, and her clothes were baggy and loose on her. She ate tons of junk food, so she was on the chunky side.  
  
"You should eat healthy food," Claire said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, you keep repeating this every single day! So shut up," Dierdre murmured. Her mouth was full of brownie.  
  
"Alright, guys, let's just be quiet so I can eat in peace," Natalie said. She laughed.  
  
The three friends started laughing. Suddenly Claire said, "Did you hear about our stupid English assignment we have?"  
  
"No," Natalie said, "What's it about?"  
  
"We have to write an autobiography," Dierdre chimed in, "You're gonna have to do it, too."  
  
"Everyone has to do it, you have English next period, you'll learn more about it," Claire said.  
  
"You have to write about your dad, and your mom, and all the other stupid stuff that no one cares about," Dierdre told Natalie.  
  
"Aw, man," Natalie groaned. "That's lame. Besides, I barely know anything about my mom. And I'm going to have to say that I was born when my parents were sixteen."  
  
"It is _so_ not lame!" Claire said, "I bet it's going to be fun writing about your dad!"  
  
"Why?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Because..." Claire began.  
  
"You're dad is _so_ hot!" Both Dierdre and Claire stated as if Natalie was stupid. 

"Ew! No he's not! Besides, he's married!" Natalie nearly shouted.  
  
"We know _that_," Claire replied.  
  
"But he's so cute," Dierdre sighed. She batted her eyelashes, then took a sip of Coke. "I have a poster of him in my room, taped up right in front of my bed, so I can look at him all night."  
  
"You guys are creepy! Let's just not talk about this anymore," Natalie said with a disgusted look on her face. "Besides, the bell's gonna ring soon. I'm gonna go get a good seat for English."  
  
She gathered her things, then picked up her trash and stood up. She headed into the building, and right after she disappeared, Claire pulled out a magazine with a picture of David Gordon on the cover. Dierdre smiled, and Claire handed it over, so her friend could read the article about the famous director.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
A/N: I don't have a clue what's going to happen next in this chapter. It's going to just be right out of my head, so it might not be that good.  
  
**Chapter Twenty-Five**  
  
Natalie sat in her English class, chewing on the end of her pen. Her friends had been right, every class was given the assignment to write an autobiography.  
  
Everyone else was scribbbling away, but Natalie couldn't think of a way to start off. She was still a bit uncomfortable about how she was born. Her father, David, had told her the story when she turned thirteen. But how could she put that into words?  
  
_I was born when my parents were sixteen years old, due to them getting drunk at some party._  
  
_NO! NO! NO!!!_ Natalie screamed in her head, crossing the sentence out._ I guess I'll just skip that part. Yeah, that's right. No one has to know about that._  
  
She began to write.  
  
_I was born on July 19th, 2004, to Elizabeth McGuire and David Gordon. My parents were never married, I was just an accident. My father, David Gordon, had moved when my mother was pregnant with me, so I didn't know him the first seven years of my life.  
  
Now what?_ she thought. _This isn't actually the real thing...it's just a rough draft...I'll make it more interesting when I type it up later._  
  
_When I was seven years old, an accident occurred, and my mother went into a coma, causing me to go live with my dad and his fiance, Brooke. I was pretty upset then, but my dad made me feel better.   
  
The best part was when I went to school. I reunited with my best friend, Ryan Ashworth, who had moved the month before the accident.   
  
My dad and Brooke got married August 20th, 2011. I was getting used to my new life then, my dad was nice, I had great new friends, and Brooke would talk to me about anything. She was like a mother and a sister to me.  
  
When I was around thirteen, I guess things started changing a lot then. I was becoming a teenager, so my body was developing and all that stuff. I started experiencing new feelings for my best friend. I liked him, as in **liked** liked. Suddenly, I was very self-conscious around Ryan. I made sure my hair and teeth were perfect every time I saw him, I starting wearing makeup, nothing too drastic, just some lipgloss and blush, but it was noticeable. I never actually thought that Ryan would ever like me back, but I was wrong.  
  
One day, he came to my house and asked to talk to me in private. So we went up to my room, where we both sat down on my bed, and then he told me.  
  
He said, "Nat, uhh...do you like, uh, like anyone?"  
  
I gave him a blank look, then shook my head. I didn't realize I was blushing until he told me. I turned redder, then nodded slowly. Then I asked if he liked anyone, also.  
  
"Uhh...yeah...that's why I came to talk to you."  
  
I was about to say something, I cannot remember what, but I couldn't get the words out. Finally I stammered, "Oh...w-what do you m-mean?"  
  
Ryan looked down at the floor. He was staring at my diary, which I had been writing in before he came. I think I was writing about how I loved his eyes or something....and I had left it lying on the flor, where I had left it.   
  
I had left it on the floor....open to the page where I had been writing.  
  
Ryan could read it, no doubt, my handwriting was probably the neatest in my class. I sat there, in horror, as he stared down at the page that said:  
  
Oh, my gosh...his eyes..you could just drown in them....and his lips....probably if I kissed him, they would be very soft.  
  
This morning, I was picturing us kissing, you know, in my head, while I was eating breakfast. Then Brooke, who had just kissed my dad goodbye as he left for work, came in with her lipgloss smudged and said, "Natalie! Are you alright? You're getting your head soaked with milk!"  
  
That was kind of embarrassing._  
  
_Wait! Why am I writing this!?_ Natalie thought to herself. _This is my autobiography, not my diary, for crying out loud! I can't believe this! Maybe...if I turn it in...maybe Miss Craft won't make me read it out loud. She only picks the best essays with the most detail...usually I'm one of them. But if I write a note saying I don't want to read it out loud...maybe that would be okay. I don't want to erase this all. Besides, this is just my rough draft, I'm putting in the stuff about my parents when I type up the good copy.  
  
So then, I knew that Ryan was reading it from where he was sitting. When he was done, he slowly looked at me with this blank look on his face. Then he said, "Do you mean this, Natalie?"  
  
I felt like I couldn't breathe. I blushed harder than I ever had in my life, I swallowed hard and then managed to get out a small, "Yes."  
  
This followed a silence. I could tell Ryan was thinking. I thought he was thinking of a way to say, "Sorry, Natalie, but I like your friend Claire, sorry." It looked like he was going to say that. But he didn't. He didn't say anything. He just started leaning in, you know...  
  
And then I started leaning in....  
  
And then we kissed. On the lips. My first kiss. It felt good, actually.  
  
And that's basically how I got together with my current boyfriend, Ryan Ashworth. I cannot believe we've been dating since we were thirteen, it feels so long ago, now we're seventeen, and we've never broken up._  
  
Suddenly, the bell rang. Natalie looked up at the clock and couldn't believe that thirty minutes could have gone by so fast. She gathered her things, then went out into the hall, where she spotted him.  
  
"Hey, Ryan!" she said as she ran up to him.  
  
"Hey," he replied. He smiled.   
  
Natalie smiled back.   
  
Ryan had grown up a lot since they had started dating. He had brown hair and green eyes, he had perfect teeth, and he was only two inches taller than Natalie. It was great going out with your best friend. They had so much in common, and they could share everything with each other. And their parents were good friends with each other, and they liked to go out to restaurants and other outings together, so they saw each other a lot. It was pretty cool having young parents, they still liked to have some fun, not like the parents of their friends.  
  
Ryan reached out and grabbed Natalie's hand. "So how's Brooke?" he asked.  
  
"She's fine," Natalie told him, "A lot of morning sickness, though. I still don't get why they keep trying to have a baby when Brooke's already had three miscarriages."  
  
"So you don't want a brother or sister?"   
  
"We.., it would be cool, but what's the point of trying when it's not going to end up the way you want it?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know. We're gonna be late for our next class if we don't hurry up," Natalie pointed out.  
  
"Okay, see ya," Ryan said as he let go of her hand and quickly kissed her on the cheek, then hurried in the other direction.  
  
Natalie watched him as he disappeared into his French class. "See ya," she said dreamily.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Six  
  
A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews! This chapter might be bad too, lol.  
  
Sorry if I sound mean in this, but it's something that's gotta be said:  
  
Aoife: You reviewed Chapter 13, and you made that comment about Charlie Baker. I did not take that from Cheaper by the Dozen, I HATE that movie, in my opinion it sucks ass. So please don't go and make accusations before you even know the real deal. Maybe I like the name, so what? I didn't use Tom Welling's character. I barely even like Hilary Duff anymore...  
  
And what _about_ Lindsay Malcolm? If you don't know who she is...I made up that character. So...yeah.  
  
Everybody! Please stop asking if Lizzie's dead! Please Please please! Not to be rude...lol.  
  
It even says that she's not dead! Read the summary! And in this chapter! So enjoy!  
  
**Chapter Twenty Six**  
  
**_Back in Hillridge..._**  
  
Miranda was sitting in the middle of the food court at the mall. She looked at her watch and sighed. She was supposed to be here ten minutes ago, she said to herself.  
  
She stretched her neck and scanned the area. Suddenly she saw a head of blond curls make her way towards her.  
  
"Finally! What took you so long?" Miranda asked when her friend approached.  
  
"I had to babysit Carly for Matt," Lizzie McGuire said as she sat down across from her.  
  
"Did she bite you?"  
  
"Yes. Third time this week."  
  
Miranda laughed and said, "Let's go get something to eat."  
  
Lizzie nodded, then stood up and looked for a good place to eat.  
  
It had been seven years since Lizzie McGuire had woken up from her coma. Her parents told her that Gordo had Natalie, and when she asked what their phone number was, Mrs. McGuire hesitated, then told Lizzie that she didn't know it. So they called Miranda, but she didn't have it, nor did her parents. So they just let it go. But Lizzie still wondered about Natalie. She pictured what she would probably look like every single day.  
  
_She's probably around seventeen,_ Lizzie thought as she waited for her order, _Her hair is probably straighter. Her eyes...still blue, and she's tall and pretty skinny. She's probably athletic, like she was when she was seven. And she...  
_  
"Uh, ma'am?" the young teenager who had taken her order, "Here's your food."   
  
"Oh! Uh...thanks, I already paid you, right?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Uh huh," the teenager said. He wiped his hands on his apron, then told Lizzie to get out of the way so the next person in line could take their order.  
  
Lizzie grabbed her tray of food, then went back to her seat, where Miranda was sitting, chewing on a burger. Lizzie sat down across from her, and began eating her lunch.  
  
"I haw woo," Miranda mumbled, her mouth full of food.  
  
"You did?" Lizzie asked.  
  
Miranda nodded, her cheeks bulging with burger. "Oo err finkig abow err," she accused, meaning, "You were thinking about her."  
  
"I was not!" Lizzie protested.  
  
Miranda swallowed, then grabbed her pop and took a long sip. Then she bit into her burger again. "Err doo. Ont enny it," she murmured, meaning, "Don't deny it."  
  
"Miranda, could you please stop being a slob and talk with no food in your mouth?" Lizzie asked.  
  
Miranda continued chewing, then swallowed. "It's just that I haven't had a good burger in like, three years..."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Ever since Kira was born, I decided to lose weight, and I vowed never to eat greasy fats like burgers and fries," Miranda told her friend.  
  
"Okaaay then," Lizzie replied.  
  
"Aren't you gonna eat?" Miranda asked.  
  
"No," Lizzie sighed. "I'm not hungry anymore."  
  
"Then..." Miranda said as she popped the last bite of her hamburger into her mouth, "Ood I av yower oode?"  
  
Lizzie pushed her tray across the small table, but kept her bottled water with her. She watched as Miranda gobbled down her meal. "Seriously, Miranda," she laughed, "You can't go a day without eating."


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

  
  
Chapter Twenty-Seven

**A/N:** Hi everyone! So you're wondering, _why am I adding a new chapter to this, when I said it would be wrapped up in September???_ Well, I was feeling creative, and bored, so I decided to finish this up and then move on to my HP stuff. This chapter is going to be short, because it's 12:30AM, and I have to get to bed soon, but hey, at least it's something. And this is the chapter that makes the story a bit....more interesting.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"Lizzie," Miranda suddenly said.

"One second, Miranda! This is the best part, why do you have to open your huge mouth when the movie starts to heat up!?" Lizzie exclaimed. "This is the third time you've started a conversation during this movie, I wanna see _at least_ five minutes of it!" She reached over and clamped a hand over Miranda's mouth, and turned her attention back to the TV sreen.

Miranda and Lizzie were sitting in Lizzie's apartment, watching Spider-Man, Lizzie's second favourite movie. It was the part where Mary-Jane kisses Peter Parker when he's hanging from a building.

When Mary-Jane pulled away, the two women were gaping at the television, their eyes wide and mouths open.

"Man, I wish Larry would kiss me like that," Miranda breathed.

"I wish _any_ guy would kiss me like that," Lizzie sighed.

Miranda pictured her husband hanging upside-down from the side of the couch, asking Miranda to kiss him. It didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

"Now you can talk, Randa," Lizzie said.

Miranda snapped out of her thoughts, and tried to remember what she was going to say.

"Lizzie, I know you think of Natalie a lot. Same with Gordo."

Lizzie slowly turned her head and faced her friend. "Yeah, so?" she asked.

"_So_, haven't you ever thought of going to Massachusetts and look for them?" Miranda asked.

Lizzie seemed deep in thought. Then she replied, "Well, what if they're not in Massachusetts anymore? What if they're somewhere else? What if Gordo's married, with children? What if Natalie got into a car accident and is dead? Or paralyzed? Or she got into an explosion and lost her memory? She wouldn't know who I am!"

"Lizzie, trust me, drive down to where they live and find them. I know what city, I've been there before, a couple months after your accident. I've been to their house. I'll give you the address and everything, and if you refuse to go, then that's too bad for you suga, 'cause I'm gonna _make_ you go."

Lizzie opened her mouth, as if to say something, then she shut it. She opened it again, then closed it. Finally she said quietly, "_Fine_. I'll go. When do you want me outta here?"

Miranda smiled. "Well, there's always tomorrow, or next week."

"Where will I stay? I can't just go to Gordo's and go, 'Hey, it's me, Lizzie McGuire, remember me? Your daughter's mother? Yeah, I'm alive. You don't mind if I stay here, do you?'"

Miranda laughed. "I know a couple motels."

"Motels!?" Lizzie exclaimed, "Motels suck! They smell weird! Remember last year when we went on that road trip? Remember the couple getting it on in the next room? Please tell me you remember that."

"Of course I do! That was nasty!" Miranda giggled as she popped some popcorn into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, then said, "So, do you wanna go pack?"

"_What?_"

"For your trip," Miranda reminded Lizzie.

"You aren't serious, are you? I have plenty of time, Miranda."

"What time is it?" Miranda asked, glancing at the clock beside her. It said 10:07PM. "We have _loads_ of time, Liz! The sooner you pack, the sooner you'll be ready to go! The sooner you'll be ready to go, then sooner you'll leave!"

"I still don't see why I have to go by myself," Lizzie grumbled, "Can't you come with me?"

"No! Lizzie, how stupid are you? Remember, last month, I had a baby? I have to take care of him, not to mention Kira and Abby, and to top it all off, I have to take care of 'em by myself 'cause Larry's going on a business trip next week! Remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Lizzie replied.

"So, come on!" Miranda said, grabbing Lizzie's hand and pulling her into Lizzie's bedroom, completely forgetting about the movie.

**A/N:** I know that was short, but expect an update either tomorrow or the day after. And please, REVIEW! Thanks!


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight  
  
A/N: Omg! I am so sorry that I didn't update. I was on vacation.....uh...ok then. This chapter was written at around ten thirty at night so it's a bit bland. Well, at least it's something.  
  
Oh. Wait.  
  
I just checked the clock and it says it's 1:45AM....okay, so maybe I just a teeny tiny bit off.  
  
Lol.  
  
This is probably the shortest chapter of the whole story, not counting the prologue, but at least it has something kinda big at the end of it.

**I'm gonna update asap! Oh, and btw, I'm not gonna leave Lizzie fics. I'm gonna continue writing them, but I hate reading them, so...yeah. Harry Potter fics are amazing compared to Lizzie stuff...sorry guys, hehe.  
**  
**Chapter Twenty-Eight**  
  
"Damn," Lizzie muttered as she drove along some highway.  
  
_Stupid weather,_ she thought, _Where the hell am I? Uhh....damn map says I'm somewhere near the city he lives in.....This is __where Miranda said he lives, right? I'm pretty sure this is it..._  
  
Lizzie tried to see what was in front of her, but the whole road was blocked by rain pattering on the window. After a couple of minutes, she managed to see a sign that told her where she was.  
  
"This better be the right place," Lizzie told herself. "Why the hell am I doing this!? Am I going insane or something?"  
  
She continued driving through the stormy night, trying to find a decent motel to stay in. Okay, so she was near some plaza with some coffee shop and a couple of fast-food joints and stuff...  
  
_Where the hell is a motel!?_ Lizzie screamed to herself.  
  
Suddenly, her car made a weird sound, kind of like a scraping noise...then it started to slow down a bit.  
  
Oh, no!! What the-? Lizzie silently panicked. She decided to park the car in the plaza, then she would decide what to do from there.  
  
She slowly pulled into the area, in front of the cofeee shop, the car continuing the noises along the way. She parked the car, then jumped out and ran over to the door of the coffee shop. She noticed a sign that read, 'Welcome to Coffee Time.' She made a face, for she had always hated that place, then decided that it was the only place around that didn't smell like grease. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.  
  
Lizzie shook her hair out as she looked around. She noticed a couple of lovesick teenagers, soaking wet, huddled in the corner, kissing. She made a face, then reminded herself that she used to daydream about that when she was fifteen, then shook her wet mop of hair out and turned around to get a look at the other side of the restaurant.  
  
There was some old man sitting by himself, reading a newspaper. She figured he wasn't interesting so she glanced to the next person that caught her eye, who was sitting at a small table in the corner.  
  
Lizzie blinked. _No,_ she thought, _It couldn't be him..._  
  
But it was.  
  
Sitting in the corner, grapsing a cup of coffee, staring wide-eyed at Lizzie was indeed David Gordon.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty Nine  
  
**Note: omg, I totally forgot to tell you guys something.  
  
Natalie is sixteen years old, but in this it's May, then when july hits she's seventeen. Got it? Okay.**

Most of this chapter is conversation. Not much detail. Yeah, I suck, we all know it.

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Gordo asked, still staring at Lizzie.  
  
"I...uh..was going for a road trip...and uh..my car broke down," Lizzie stammered. Okay, so the last part was true. She just didn't want Gordo to know she had hunted him down.  
  
"Oh," Gordo said shortly. He blinked. "Want to sit down?"  
  
"Sure," Lizzie accepted. She walked over to his table and sat down across from him. They sat there, silent for a moment, staring at each other.  
  
"You look great," Lizzie finally told him.  
  
"You look..." Gordo began as he stared her down, "...wet."  
  
Lizzie laughed.  
  
"Joking. Well, not really, you really are wet. You look great, too," Gordo said as he laughed with her.  
  
"Thanks," Lizzie said, "So, uh, do, uh, people still call you Gordo?"  
  
"Most of the time," Gordo answered, "Except in magazines and movies and stuff."  
  
"Yeah, I've read some articles," Lizzie told him, "Girls think you're pretty hot stuff."  
  
Gordo laughed and said, "I know. Natalie's friends are obsessed with me."  
  
At the mention of Natalie, Lizzie shot her head up at Gordo and asked, "How is Natalie?"  
  
Gordo kind of sighed, then took a sip of his coffee.  
  
Lizzie tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear, then played with her earring. She straightened out her jacket, then licked her chapped lips. She was too embarrassed to admit that she was wearing a stretchy cotton t-shirt underneath, one of those maternity things that she had when she was fifteen. It didn't look like a maternity shirt; it looked just like a normal t-shirt. She had tried it on the other day and it still fit her. She glanced back at Gordo.  
  
"Well, she's pretty good, I guess. She's turning seventeen soon. She's pretty popular in her school, too. Lots of friends and stuff..." Gordo stated.  
  
"Oh," Lizzie squeaked, trying not to seem as interested as she really was.  
  
"So, how are you? Are you...married or anything?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No," Lizzie answered, "I've been single since freshman year."  
  
Gordo was silent for a moment.  
  
"What about you? Are you married?"  
  
"Uh...yeah," Gordo sighed.  
  
"You're saying that as if it's a bad thing," Lizzie pointed out.  
  
"No, I'm not," Gordo snapped.  
  
"Whoah, calm down," Lizzie said, "So, is that it? Any kids? Besides Natalie, of course."  
  
"Uh...no, not really."  
  
"'Not really'? What do you mean by that?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"My wife's had like, three miscarriages," Gordo said quietly.  
  
"Oh...I-I'm really sorry about that," Lizzie said sympathetically.  
  
"You're saying that as if it's your fault, Liz," Gordo replied.  
  
Lizzie laughed.  
  
"So, do you have a place to stay?" he asked.  
  
"No. The only reason I'm here is because my car's shot," Lizzie told him.  
  
"You could always stay with us," Gordo offered.  
  
Lizzie didn't want to make herself act as happy as she was, so instead she paused for a moment, as if she was deciding whether to accept or not, then she smiled sweetly and gratefully said, "Really? I guess so, as long as it doesn't bother your family."  
  
_Wow, I should really become an actress!_ Lizzie thought, _I am so good at this!_  
  
"My family? Lizzie, 25% of it is half yours," Gordo laughed.  
  
Lizzie laughed in return, but her mind was racing. She was going to go live with Gordo. Which meant she was going to live with Natalie.  
  
She was _finally_ going to see her daughter after ten long years. 


	31. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

A/N: Hey peeps! Three things:

1.) This chapter might be badly written, I don't know, because, well, I haven't exactly written the whole thing out, the part of the story is just in my head, no details or anything, hehe.

2.) There are only a few more chapters left to this story!

3.) BUT I am going to write another story soon, it's gonna be long too, I just don't want to tell you the plot yet because, well, I don't want people to use my idea. Actually, I'm not sure if the plot has been used, I just got inspired while reading one of my favourite books (not telling which one just yet)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Lizzie McGuire, yet I own the plot and the following characters:

Natalie Gordon  
Brooke Morgan (or Morgan-Gordon...that sounds weird)  
Ryan Ashworth  
Ashley Ashworth  
Kristie Ashworth  
Deirdre Hill  
Claire Watson  
(there's lots more but I'm too lazy to put them down...they're not even important so whatever, but i still own them)

**Chapter Thirty**

****

_Hey! Hey!  
Get tangled up in me _

_You think that you know me  
You think that I'm only  
When everything I do is only to get tangled up in you  
You wanna know more, more, more about me  
I'm the girl that's sweeping you off your feet_

**-Skye Sweetnam "Tangled Up In Me"**

"This is your house?" Lizzie asked as they pulled into the driveway of Gordo's house.

"Yeah, is there something wrong with it?" Gordo asked as he stopped the car and tucked his keys into his pocket.

"No, it's just that I thought you ould live in, like, a huge mansion," Lizzie said as they both stepped out of the car. They walked around to the trunk and pulled out her luggage. It had stopped raining a while ago, yet it was still very moist in the air.

Gordo's house wasn't that bad at all. It was pretty big, just not what Lizzie was expecting. It stood on the corner of the street, right by an intersection.

It was pretty dark outside, yet you could see very well. Lizzie glanced at her watch. It was almost 11:30. She looked around, then grabbed one of her bags out of the trunk. Gordo shut it and they started walking toward the front door.

They stopped on the porch and Gordo turned to Lizzie and said, "Natalie might be inside either watching a movie with her boyfriend or making out with him....just a little warning. You can easily avoid her by going straight upstairs or you can go and have your little reunion."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

"Now, just in case Nat's really in there making out, we have to be really quiet so I can sneak up on her."

Lizzie had to laugh. She giggled a bit and tried to picture two teenagers lip-locking on the couch and Gordo coming in going, "I'm home!"

Lizzie nodded and Gordo slowly opened the door. They both stepped inside and Gordo quietly closed the door, then motioned for Lizzie to stay where she was, then tiptoed his way into the living room.

Just as he expected, the lights were turned off, a movie was playing on the TV, and Natalie and Ryan were on the couch, tangled up in each other. Gordo reached over to the light switch, flipped it on and said loudly, "Enjoying the movie?"

Natalie, who was on top of Ryan, shot up about a mile in the air, screamed, then quickly smoothed out her ruffled clothes. Ryan sat up and rubbed Natalie's lipgloss off his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he ran a hand through his hair and said to Gordo, "Err-it's very...interesting...", then blushed a deep shade of red, just like Natalie.

Gordo laughed, then asked, "Nat, where's Brooke?"

Natalie turned from red to white instantly. "Oh, uh, that," she stammered, "Well, we kinda tried reaching you on your cell phone, but, uh, you must have been working or something, well, uh, of course you were working 'cause you've been gone all day..."

Gordo folded his arms across his chest and said, "Just get to the point."

Natalie now seemed very interested in the Coke stain on the floor. She shuffled her feet. "Well, um, Brooke's kind of at the hospital..."

"What happened?" Gordo asked quickly.

"Uh, well, she lost the baby Dad," Natalie mumbled uncomfortably.

After that followed a long silent. The couple sitting on the couch didn't dare move or speak. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Oh," Gordo finally said, "W-why is she still at the hospital?"

"Um, because," Natalie began, playing with her charm bracelet, "The doctor wanted to see if something's wrong with her, since she's always having miscarriages," she finished, her voice barely audible.

"Oh," Gordo replied, "Well, uh, I have a friend over...she had car trouble and she's from a different town...it's a long story, but she's going to be staying with us for a while."

"What room is she going to stay in?" Natalie asked.

Gordo sighed. "The guestroom," he answered.

"Okay," Natalie said.

Gordo left the living room, into the front hall.

Ryan and Natalie sat on the couch, staring at each other. After a moment, Natalie grabbed Ryan's head and crushed his lips with hers.

Gordo found Lizzie sitting on the stairs.

"Hi," Gordo said quietly.

"Hi," Lizzie greeted. "I heard you guys. Sorry about your...wife. Or baby. Or.."

"Yeah, thanks," Gordo said a little glumly.

"So, it's happened a lot? Your wife having miscarriages, I mean," Lizzie asked.

Gordo nodded.

"Sorry," Lizzie whispered.

"For what?"

"Sticking my nose in your business," Lizzie told him.

"You're not, Lizzie," Gordo assured her, "Now what do you want to do, let me show you your room and then go to bed? Or do something else...I mean, there's nothing really to do because Natalie's having a date and all," Gordo said.

"I guess I'll go to bed," Lizzie chose.

"Okay," Gordo said and picked up Lizzie's bags, then made his way up the stairs, Lizzie trailing behind.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty-One  
  
A/N: This chapter may be a bit bland and short, but the next chapter, which will be up later today, will be much better. I promise.  
  
**Chapter Thirty-Two**  
  
The next morning at around nine o'clock, Lizzie woke up, then, after forgetting where she was, then remembering the events of the night before, dressed herself in a lavender t-shirt and black Capri pants. She ran a brush through her wavy hair, then put on some pink lipgloss and went downstairs.  
  
She found her way into the kitchen, where Gordo was pouring a glass of orange juice. "Hey," he said when he saw her come in.  
  
"Hey," Lizzie replied. She rubbed her nose, then looked around. "So, Natalie must be at school or something, right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, she left a while ago," Gordo told her.  
  
"So, when's your wife going to come home?"  
  
"Later today," Gordo answered. "Want something to eat?"  
  
"Sure, what do you have?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Well, we have those Corn Flakes with the strawberries mixed in, which no one likes except for Natalie, so there's lots left. Uh, let me see what else we have," Gordo said, and began to open and close cupboards while listing off all the breakfast foods they had. Lizzie settled for a plain toaster waffle, and when Gordo asked her if that was all, she decided to have two, and Gordo raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"What?" Lizzie asked him, "I happen to like my toaster waffles just by themselves, with no condiments or anything. Especially syrup. It always gets in my hair."  
  
Gordo laughed, then poured Lizzie some orange juice and handed the glass to her. She took a sip and asked him what they usually do during the day.  
  
"Lots of stuff. Brooke goes off to her job at some clothing store and if I'm on vacation, which I am right now, I just go out and do whatever," Gordo told her.  
  
"Cool," Lizzie replied. Suddenly, Lizzie's waffles popped up from the toaster, and before Gordo could do anything, she grabbed them, then sat down at the table and began eating one while holding the other in her left hand.  
  
"Don't you want a plate?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Nope," Lizzie said in a muffled voice since her mouth was full, "I don't want to waste a dish just for some waffle."  
  
"Uh, okay then," was all Gordo could say as he sat down and watched Lizzie eat.  
  
"So, what do you wanna do today?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"I don't know, whatever you want to," Gordo said.  
  
They were silent after that until Lizzie swallowed a chunk of waffle and nearly shouted, "Omigosh! I totally forgot to call Miranda! She needs to know where I am, where's your phone?"  
  
Gordo raised an eyebrow at her, then said slowly, as if she were stupid, "Lizzie, there is a cordless phone right in front of you."  
  
He was right. Lizzie grabbed the phone, started dialing, then turned to Gordo and said, "I'll pay for this call."  
  
"No, it's okay, really," Gordo told her.  
  
Lizzie shook her head as she told the operator the phone number she wanted to reach. A couple minutes later, Miranda answered her phone.  
  
"What do you want?" Miranda asked in a groggy voice.  
  
"It's me," Lizzie said.  
  
Miranda's mood changed from tired bitch to excited puppy. "Omigosh! Where are you?!?"  
  
Lizzie stood up and wandered her way into the living room as she explained it all to her friend.  
  
"Wow! That is soo coincidental," Miranda said when she was finished. "So have you seen Natalie yet?"  
  
"No," Lizzie answered as she sat down on the couch that Natalie and Ryan had been making out on. "It was late, so I went to bed, and now she's at school."  
  
"Cool!" Miranda exclaimed. "So what are you guys gonna do today?"  
  
"We don't know yet," Lizzie said as she put her free hand beside her on the couch.  
  
"Oh, maybe you should, like, get some ice cream or something, or maybe, ya know, see a movie," Miranda rambled as Lizzie made a grossed-out face at the bubblegum she had laid her hand on. She tried to get the gum off from her hand while Miranda went on about a new movie that was coming out.  
  
"Uh, Miranda, I gotta go," Lizzie told her, and without waiting for a reply, she managed to press the Off button on the phone.  
  
"Gordo!" Lizzie called from the couch, "Could you come here please?"  
  
Gordo came into the living room and found her on the couch with her hand covered in pink gum. Her burst out laughing at the sight, then Lizzie swore and asked him why they leave chewed up gum around the house.  
  
"That's not mine, it must've been Natalie's, remember last night? She must have lost her gum hile she was making out with her boyfriend," Gordo explained.  
  
"Ha, ha," Lizzie said sarcastically.  
  
"Really, Lizzie, if I ask her, she'd blush ten shades of red," Gordo told her.  
  
Lizzie sat silent for a moment as Gordo continued laughing. Then, forgetting about the pink goo covering her hand, she laughed along with her friend.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty-Two  
  
A/N: Okay, this is it! This is the chapter everyone's been waiting for! And after this, the story is NOT going to end! There's at least five more chapter left, so keep reading!  
  
I am so sorry that I didn't post this sooner. I had some difficulties writing this chapter. Well, the beginning was fine but when it got to the end, I just didn't want it to sound too soap operish and dramatic. So I just went with the flow. Lol.  
  
**Chapter Thirty-Two**  
  
"Dad! I'm home!" Natalie called out as she stepped inside her house later that day. She made her way into the kitchen and found Gordo loading the dishwasher.  
  
"Hey, Dad" Natalie greeted.  
  
Gordo turned around. "Hey. How was school?" she asked.  
  
"Fine," Natalie answered, walking over to the fridge and opening it up. "Is it okay if I have a friend over later?"  
  
"Uh..." Gordo hesitated, "No."  
  
"Why not? Are we doing something tonight?" Natalie asked. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a tray of brownies  
  
"No," Gordo said, "It's just that I have a friend over and I want you to meet her."  
  
Natalie ignored this. Instead she asked, "When'd you make brownies?"  
  
"I didn't," Gordo said, "My friend did. With the help of Brooke."  
  
"So, your friend and Brooke are like, friends now?" Natalie asked. She pulled a brownie from the tray and began eating it.  
  
"Yeah, when we picked Brooke up from the hospital, I told Brooke that Li-err, my friend was from out of town and didn't have anywhere to stay," Gordo explained. "Whatever. They're talking in the living room, don't go in there," Gordo told his daughter. He closed the dishwasher, then walked over to Natalie, grabbed a brownie for himself, and bit into it.  
  
"Why not? Does you friend have some birth defect that will freak me out?" Natalie asked, her mouth full of brownie.  
  
"No! That's just weird."  
  
They stood there in silence as they ate brownies. After a few minutes, Gordo broke the silence.  
  
"Nat?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you remember your mother very much?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Yeah, a little," Natalie replied as she grabbed another brownie from the tray.  
  
"Do you remember at all what she looked like?" Gordo questioned and took another bite of his brownie.  
  
"Uh huh," Natalie said and nodded. She smiled. "She was very pretty."  
  
"Yeah, okay," Gordo said absentmindedly. "Wait, what do you mean by 'was'?"  
  
"Didn't you say she was dead?" Natalie asked slowly.  
  
"Uh-"Gordo began, but he was cut off by Brooke, who came into the kitchen to tell them that she was going to go rent a movie and would be back in fifteen minutes, then grabbed her purse and headed out the front door.  
  
Gordo had forgotten about what he had told his daughter a few years ago. Everyone figured that Lizzie was dead since they hadn't heard from anyone for years, so he told Natalie that her parents had taken her off life support.  
  
"Damn, I'm so stupid!" he blurted out.  
  
"Dad? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked.  
  
"N-nothing," Gordo muttered, shoving the last bite of brownie into his mouth. He ran from the kitchen into the living room where Lizzie was sitting watching TV. He grabbed her arm, then led her into the hallway from another doorway, so Natalie wouldn't see her.  
  
"Gordo? What are you doing?" Lizzie asked him.  
  
"Natalie's home," he told her.  
  
"So?" Lizzie escaped from Gordo's grasp and stared up at him. She hadn't noticed how tall he had gotten since they were fifteen. His hair was a bit longer and it looked like he worked out every day.  
  
"Look, can't we just get this over with?" she asked him. She folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Get what over with?" Gordo asked.  
  
"Just go in there and tell Natalie I'm not dead! Then, just bring her in here or something! I can't just live in this house without her knowing that I'm here!" Lizzie nearly yelled.  
  
"Shh!" Gordo brought a finger to his lips. He glanced behind him, and was about to tell Lizzie that Natalie could have heard them, but it was too late.  
  
Natalie was standing in the doorway.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"N-nothing," Gordo stammered nervously, running a finger through his head of curls.  
  
"I heard voices," Natalie told him.  
  
"Uh huh," Gordo said absentmindedly. Luckily, he was standing in front of Lizzie, blocking her from Natalie's view.  
  
"And, I-uh, well, call me crazy, but I kind of recognized one of them as my mother's," Natalie said. She tucked a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear, then fiddled with her earring.  
  
Gordo tried to think of something to cover up the truth, but he couldn't think of anything.  
  
"Well, yeah, uh, I can't call you crazy. Uh, that's because...uh...that _was_ your mother," Gordo finally managed to say after a couple of minutes.  
  
Natalie's face went from confused to serious. And even more confused. "Dad...maybe you're the one who's crazy. Mom's dead," she said in a blank tone.  
  
"No, uh, actually, she isn't. She's uh, right behind me," Gordo told her nervously.  
  
"Yeah, add sheez guh-ah be edd if oo would juss move!" Lizzie called out in a muffled voice from behind Gordo. Since Natalie had come into the room, Gordo had been backing up slowly towards the wall, and hadn't realized that he was crushing Lizzie. What Lizzie has said was, "Yeah, and she's going to be dead if you would just move!"  
  
Gordo jumped from where he was standing, revealing Lizzie.  
  
Natalie's jaw dropped. Neither of the adults said nothing. After a long moment of silence, Natalie turned to Gordo, crossed her arms across her chest, and said, in a voice that as choked up yet angry, "You told me she was dead!"  
  
Gordo looked terrified. When Natalie got mad, everyone would jump out of her way. Her stepmother and her best friends were afraid of her. She even made Ryan whimper like a puppy. Of course, she wasn't like that all the time. Just when people really piss her off.  
  
"I-uh-I-" Gordo stammered, "It's a l-long story..."  
  
"I've got time," Natalie stated coldly. Gordo gulped, and told her everything that had happened. When he was finished, Natalie scrunched up her nose and looked at the ground. Then she looked back up at him and said, "Damn. I thought you'd have something lame. But I guess that's good enough. You can leave now."  
  
"Thank you!" Gordo gasped, grabbed his daughter and kissed her on the cheek, then ran out of the room.  
  
Natalie turned to Lizzie, who hadn't said a thing for the past five minutes, and stared at her. "Mom?" she finally said.  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie nodded a smiled. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"For what?" Natalie asked. "You didn't do anything."  
  
"Yes, I did," Lizzie told her, "I just...walked out on you. I know it sucks having to leave your life and to start a new one, in a different state and whatever. I'm just...sorry."  
  
Natalie stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.  
  
"What's so funny? I was being serious," Lizzie said. Then she started laughing, too. She couldn't help it.  
  
"It's just that-it's just that you haven't changed a bit, I mean, you still-you still talk the way you did when I was younger, and you still look the same...well, except older and prettier, and you shouldn't be-shouldn't be sorry because it was some ugly dude's fault anyway. He was the one that hit you," Natalie said between laughs.  
  
The two calmed down a bit and stared at each other.  
  
"You look...totally awesome," Lizzie said. She smiled. Natalie smiled back.  
  
"I missed you, Mom," she said, then stepped forward and threw her arms around her.  
  
Lizzie hugged her daughter back. "I missed you, too." 


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

  
  
Chapter Thirty Three

A/N: I am soooooo sorry I didn't update sooner. I've got school now, so the updates are probably going to be about once a week or once every two weeks.

This chapter isn't very good, because I am very tired and this isn't my best efforts.

Chapter Thirty Three

"Okay, pick one, Jason Ketellaper or Daniel Carter," Natalie said.

Lizzie shook her head. "Neither," she answered.

"I know, neither of them are that good looking," Natalie agreed. She rabbed another slice of pizza from the box that was sitting on the coffee table and took a bite.

She and Lizzie had been talking for hours, pigging out on pizza and junk food while talking endlessly. Gordo and Brooke were upstairs doing God-knows-what. All they knew was that there was giggling involved. Natalie knew this because she had gone upstairs to get a magazine from her room.

"So tomorrow," Lizzie began, "What do you wanna do? Movies or amusement park?" She licked her sticky fingers, then took a sip of her soda.

"Hmm," Natalie thought for a moment and rubbed her nose. "How 'bout both?" she asked.

"We can totally do that!" Lizzie smiled, and they both started giggling. "We can go the amusement park in the morning, til like, seven or something, then go see the movie."

"Yeah, that'd be great!"

Suddenly, they both heard Gordo and Brooke pounding down the stairs.

"David, she's really sick, I have to go visit her," Brooke said to Gordo, "As soon as possible."

"Okay, Brooke, go," Gordo told her.

Lizzie turned around and watched the couple going on about whoever they were talking about. She glanced at Natalie, who just shrugged her shoulders and stuffed a chip in her mouth. Lizzie stood up, smoothed out her jeans, smiled, and said "Hey. What's...up?"

Gordo and Brooke turned around. Both of them had frustrated looks on their faces. Brooke was the one to answer first.

"Well," she began, "My mother has this cancer and it's getting worse, so I want to go back to San Francisco and visit her."

Lizzie stood in her place with a puzzled look on her face and her hands on her hips. "So...go," she finally replied, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

"Well, I've got this huge job interview this week, and I really need the job," Brooke explained with a worried look on her face. She reached up and ran her hand through her dark brown hair, then glanced at her husband.

"Go," Lizzie and Natalie told her in unison.

Gordo, who had been standing silent during this, finally spoke up. "Brooky, I really think you should go, what if something really horrible happens to your mom? Just asking if you can do the interview another time or something," Gordo told his wife. He placed his hand on her arm.

Natalie sighed from the couch, then whispered to Lizzie, "When Dad calls Brooke 'Brooky' it means he wants to make out."

Lizzie giggled a small fake giggle. Deep down, she was slightly jealous that Gordo wanted to kiss another woman. After all, they did have a daughter together.

They both looked back at Gordo and Brooke, who were now leaning against the wall, kissing.

Natalie made a disgusted face, then stood up. "I'm uh-gonna go call..." she said vaguely, her gaze slowly turning back to the lip locking couple, "Call my boyfriend," she finished, the walked out of the room.

Lizzie clicked her tongue, then decided to go read a book in her room, then left to do so.

Gordo and Brooke seperated a few minutes later, but stayed in each other's arms.

"When are you going to leave?" Gordo asked, panting slightly.

"A few days," Brooke answered, then licked her lips. "I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed. G'night," she said, gave Gordo a quick kiss, then let go of him and walked out of the room, a bounce in her step.

Gordo remained in his spot and sighed loudly. _Lizzie looked nice tonight,_ he thought to himself as he started cleaning up Natalie and Lizzie's mess of snacks that they had left. _She smelled good, too, when I sat beside her at dinner._

He turned off the light, put the leftover junk food away, then slowly walked up the stairs to bed.


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

A/N: Hey! Just another update before the weekend ends. Expect another couple of chaps next weekend. Short chapter, I have to go do homework soon. Peace!  
  
By the way, this kind of switches point of views in this chapter. I'm not doing POV, but if you read this you'll know what I mean.  
  
**Chapter Thirty Four**  
  
_Some people tell me, that you're not my kind  
And I believe them, but I can't get you off my mind  
Some people tell me that I should stay away  
Maybe I will ... some other day_

**-Mandy Moore "Seventeen"**  
  
"Dad," Natalie began to say at the dinner table a few days later, "Is it all right if I go camping this weekend with Ryan, Deirdre, and Brandon?"  
  
Gordo took a bite of mashed potatoes, took a quick glance at Lizzie, who was sitting across from him, then nodded.  
  
It was four days after Brooke had left for San Francisco. Natalie and Lizzie still hung out a lot, but mostly it as Lizzie and Gordo doing things together. They had gotten a lot closer since Brooke had left.  
  
"Thank you so much," Natalie smiled and helped herself to some more oven-baked chicken.  
  
"Gordo, this chicken is so good," Lizzie told Gordo between mouthfuls, "How did you know oven-baked chicken is my favourite?"  
  
Gordo froze. He had remembered what Lizzie's favourite food was from when they were teenagers, so he decided to make it for dinner. Gordo had suddenly felt his old feelings for Lizzie coming back, and his romantic feelings towards Brooke were fading away.  
  
"I-I took, uh, a guess?" Gordo answered stupidly. It sounded more like a question than a statement.  
  
Lizzie smiled. She was wearing a pink tank top underneath a see-through button-down shirt that was tinted peach, along with a black knee length skirt. Her curly hair was left down and the only makeup she had on was cherry lip balm. When Gordo had first seen her wearing the outfit that day, his jaw dropped slightly, but had quickly closed it.  
  
"Cool," Lizzie said, the smile still lingering on her lips. She was nearly finished her meal.  
  
"So, we're probably going to leave Saturday morning and drive up to the campsite," Natalie explained to her father. Suddenly, the phone rang, and Natalie dashed into the kitchen to answer it.  
  
"Hello?" Lizzie and Gordo heard her say, "Oh, hey, Ryan! What's up?"  
  
As she started saying a bunch of sweet stuff to her boyfriend on the phone, Lizzie and Gordo kept stealing glances at each other. Lizzie cleared her throat and said, "I'm full. Thanks for dinner,", then stood up and brought her plate into the kitchen.  
  
_Is it just me or has Gordo gotten hotter over the years? I wonder what he looks like without a shirt on...no, no, no, Lizzie! Stop it! You know you'll never have a chance with him! He's married! He's married, he's married, he's married!_ Lizzie screamed in her head as she threw out the scraps of her meal into the garbage. She placed her plate into the sink and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV. She started watching whatever was on the channel. It was some girl and a guy making out on a couch. Lizzie sighed and changed the channel. This time she found a woman confessing her undying love to her ex-husband. Lizzie glared at the screen and hit the Up button on the remote. Sweet Home Alabama was playing. Lizzie accidently let out a frustrated scream and pressed the Off button. She stood up and went into the next room, which happened to be the dining room. Gordo was sitting at the table, deep in thought.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gordo asked vaguely.  
  
"Nothing," Lizzie breathed. She was hooked on Gordo's blue eyes, "I think I'm going to go do some reading in my room."  
  
She dashed into the foyer, then slowly walked upstairs. She trudged into the guest room and threw herself on the bed. She let out an exasperated sigh. She lay there for a while, then sat up and looked around. The alarm clock on the nightstand read 7:00. Lizzie stood up, walked downstairs, and found Gordo in the kitchen.  
  
"Where's Natalie?" Lizzie asked in a tired voice.  
  
"She went to her boyfriend's," Gordo told her. He blinked a couple of times, then looked at the phone. Then, as if it were on cue, it rang. Gordo picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Honey," Brooke's voice filled Gordo's right ear, "I'm just calling to let you know how my mom's doing."  
  
"And how is she?" Gordo asked in a blank voice. He honestly didn't really care how Brooke's mother was feeling. He had only met her three times, and she was very rude to him all three of them. _Besides, it's not like it's going to matter,_ he thought to himself, _I might not even be married to Brooke by the end of the year._  
  
_Shut up,_ another part of his brain told him. _You're not divorcing Brooke. She's nice, sweet, pretty....but not as pretty and sweet as Lizzie. What am I saying!? Brooke is fifty times as pretty as Lizzie! Her eyes are very mysterious...but not sparkling like Lizzie's. Brooke went to college, I doubt Lizzie did. Lizzie is a fantastic mother, though..._  
  
As different parts of Gordo's brain were fighting over his wife and Lizzie, Brooke kept going on about her mother's condition.  
  
"Gordo? Sweetie? David? Hello? Are you listening!?" Brooke screeched five minutes after she was done explaining.  
  
Gordo snapped out of his trance. "Oh, yeah, Brooke, listen, something's up, I gotta go..." He lied.  
  
"What? What happened?" Brooke asked. She sounded worried.  
  
"Nothing big, just something," Gordo said quickly, and was about to hang up just as Brooke said, "I love you, David. A lot."  
  
Hearing this, Gordo's heart sank. Sure, he loved Brooke, but not the way he used to. He didn't want to break Brooke's heart. He sighed. "Yeah...I love you too," he told her, then hung up.  
  
Forgetting Lizzie was standing behind him, he swore and left the room.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Five  
  
A/N: Hey! Thanks for the reviews! Here's a quick update. I'm so bored but tired so I don't know if this is my best efforts.  
  
To Abuhin: Thanks for the review! I would never, ever make Gordo make up a list like the episode of that horrible show "Friends."  
  
Okay everyone, this chapter is going to be very important one. I haven't written something like this so....it's kind of strange for me writing this. It's nothing huge, I'm just not good with this type of thing.

(P.S. I am not a Hanson fan, I just thought the lyrics suited the chapter)  
  
**Chapter Thirty Five  
**  
_I can tell you one thing  
We're not better on our own  
I'm tired of running from my feelings  
Are you listening?  
  
All I know is what I'm missing  
What I'm missing is your kissing  
Are you listening?_

**-Hanson "Lost Without Each Other"**

"Bye, Dad!" Natalie stood up on tiptoe and gave Gordo a quick peck on the cheek. She did the same to Lizzie, then jumped into her friend's van with her belongings, and they were off on their camping trip.  
  
Gordo and Lizzie went back inside and into the kitchen, where they both had a quick breakfast. Just as Lizzie was standing up to take a shower, Gordo stood up and said, "I call the shower first."  
  
Lizzie gaped at him for a second, then raished an eyebrow. "That is so unfair," she protested, "I was just about to go."  
  
"Too bad," Gordo shot back, then smiled. "My house, my rules. And rule number two is that the man of the house, which is me, gets to take the first shower of the day."  
  
Lizzie snorted, then flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever, Gordo," She said, annoyed. She turned around and made her way into the front hall. Gordo ran after her and managed to zip past Lizzie and get to the stairs before her. He stood in front of her, blocking her path.  
  
"Gordo, come on, cut the crap!" Lizzie nearly shouted. She pushed past him and they started racing up the stairs and into the bathroom. Lizzie made it first, but Gordo rushed in after her and pushed her out.  
  
"HEY!" Lizzie shouted, turning around, "No fair, Gordo!" She banged on the closed door.  
  
"Too bad!" said Gordo through the door, "You just can't beat me!" The next thing Lizzie heard was the shower running.  
  
She mumbled a swear word, then sat down on the stairs. She sat there the whole time Gordo was in the washroom. About five minutes later, he came out wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.  
  
"Don't tell me you've been sitting there the whole time I was in the shower," he said from behind her.  
  
Lizzie turned around, and her eyes were instantly drawn to Gordo's chest. _Holy shit,_ she thought, _He's sure got muscles._ Her jaw dropped slightly.  
  
"Wow, Gordo," she blurted out. Gordo raised an eyebrow.  
  
"'Wow' what?" he asked.  
  
Lizzie didn't reply. Instead she sat where she was, staring at Gordo's six pack.  
  
"Lizzie?" Gordo waved his hand in front of her face. Without getting a reply, he sighed then said, "I'm gonna go get dressed. You're free to use the shower."  
  
And with that he went into his room.

The two spent the whole day hanging out. They went to see a movie, where they were being very loud and obnoxious, Lizzie wanted to do some shopping, so when they went to the mall Gordo got mobbed by teenage girls wanting autographs. They did loads of stuff, they never run out of energy.  
  
Finally, at the end of the day, Lizzie and Gordo collapsed onto the couch and did nothing.  
  
"You sure shop a lot," Gordo commented after a while.  
  
"I'm a woman, Gordo, get used to it," Lizzie replied. She wiped her forehead and pouted her once glossy lips.  
  
Gordo looked over at her. Even though she had a strange expression on her face, he still thought she was pretty. Very pretty.  
  
He lifted his left arm and looked at his watch. It said 7:43PM. He sighed a long, exhausted sigh.  
  
Lizzie stared at Gordo._ I don't blame those teenagers,_ she thought, _Gordo is one hella good lookin guy._  
  
At the same time, they sat up, then stared at each other.  
  
The minutes dragged by like hours. At least it seemed that way.  
  
_Don't do it,_ Lizzie told herself, _He's married. He doesn't like you like that.  
_  
_Stop it,_ Gordo screamed in his head for the millionth time, _You're married. You love Brooke..._  
  
"Gordo," Lizzie began.  
  
"Lizzie," Gordo started.  
  
The tension between them was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.  
  
"I want you," they both said at the same time, their eyes locking.  
  
Then their lips crashed together and Brooke, Natalie, and everything else in between vanished from their minds.  
  
Minutes later, Gordo was on top of Lizzie, forgetting completely about a certain brunette who was probably expecting a call from him at that moment. _Whatever,_ Gordo thought, Brooke's just a friend who happens to have my last name.  
  
They were losing themselves in each other.  
  
After what seemed like hours, Lizzie pulled away from Gordo, and stared at him, breathing heavily.  
  
"Gordo," she said in a voice that was a mixture of confusion, disapointment, and God knows what else.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Gordo, we can't do this," Lizzie told him in a breathy voice that made her sound as if she were about to cry. She pushed him off of her and sat up.  
  
Gordo sat beside her, staring at her. "Why not?"  
  
"What do you mean 'why not'!? You're married, for God's sake!" Lizzie nearly yelled. She jumped up and crossed her arms across her chest. Gordo stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Lizzie, I..." he trailed off. _I love Lizzie,_ he thought, _But Brooke's my wife._ "I love Brooke," he said aloud, as if he were a little child struggling to say his first sentence.

He looked up and saw a shimmer of tears in Lizzie's eyes, but she immediatly blinked away. "You do? You really do?" she asked, nearly whispering.

_Well?_ Gordo asked himself, _Do I really love Brooke?_

He looked up and studied Lizzie. She was staring at him with a look of hope in her eyes. "No," he finally said truthfully, "I don't."

"Then we can forget about her," Lizzie sniffed, "And have some time to ourselves."

Gordo nodded, then grabbed her hand. They ran upstairs and into the master bedroom.

They closed the door.

It was going to be a long night.


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

  
  
Chapter Thirty-Six 

A/N: Hey. I don't want to rush this story, but I kind of want it to end at chapter 40. Anyways...here's the next chapter. It starts a few days after what happened in the last chapter.

And, unlike the musician(s) for the lyrics from the chapter before, I LOVE ASHLEE SIMPSON. Just wanted to make that clear. If you don't get why I chose these lyrics, they are kind of the feelings of a character from this fic. No, it's not Gordo or Lizzie. You just have to guess.

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

_You had me crawlin so bad  
Had me heels over head  
You had me easy, you had me easy  
Too late to go back  
To realize what we had  
We were already beautiful  
  
So dont make me cry  
Cuz this love dont feel so right  
You cant push a river  
You cant make me fall  
but you can make me unreachable  
  
Sometimes love is addiction  
Sometimes it hurts like hell  
And sometimes you just cannot get enough  
You can't make me love you,  
Any more than i do  
But you can make me unreachable_

**-Ashlee Simpson "Unreachable"**

_Weeks later..._

Lizzie sat on the edge of the bathtub, her mouth hung open in shock.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no...this is not good... _She thought in a panic. _I'm supposed to leave tomorrow. I can't go for a road trip in my condition._

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

Lizzie jumped up and tossed the stick into the trash can. "Who is it?" she called out.

"Natalie," her daughter's voice came from the other side of the door.

"C-come in," Lizzie croaked.

Natalie opened the door and stepped inside.

"I was just finished," Lizzie told her, "You can-you can use the room now."

She pushed past Natalie and headed down the hall. She walked over to the staircase and turned her head towards the kitchen. She heard Brooke washing the dishes. Gordo had left to return some movie rentals about ten minutes before. Lizzie turned around and ran into the room she had been sleeping in.

She picked up the cordless phone that was sitting on her bed. She got the operator on, and told them the phone number she was trying to reach. Finally, Miranda picked up. "Hello?" she asked.

"Randa!" Lizzie exclaimed, "I'm so sorry I haven't called."

"Hey, Liz! What's up?' Miranda asked, "Anything going on with Gordo?"

Lizzie turned around and realized the bedroom door was open. She pushed it closed, then threw herself on the bed. "Miranda, I don't know what to do," she said.

"Why? What happened?" Miranda asked.

"Well..." Lizzie trailed off, "It's a long story."

"I've got time," Miranda told her.

It had been a week since Brooke had returned from San Francisco. She seemed the same, except she was still a bit upset about her mother. Lizzie and Gordo acted as if nothing had happened between them, but deep down, they didn't regret what they did that night. Lizzie told all of this to Miranda. Besides the part where she and Gordo slept together.

"So you're secretly in love with Gordo and he doesn't know it?" Miranda asked, having no idea what was coming her way.

Lizzie hesitated, then sighed. "No. Not exactly. He knows all right."

"What!?" Miranda shrieked.

"Well, I kind of told him, and he kind of felt the same way, and now..." Lizzie cringed. How do I say this? she asked herself.

"I'm pregnant."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Back in Hillridge..._

"_WHAT!?_" Miranda screeched. Her children and her husband all stared at her.

"I'm pregnant," Lizzie repeated from the other end of the phone. She sounded as if she was going to cry.

"You mean you had _SEX_ with _GORDO_!?" Miranda yelled into the reciever.

"Miranda!" Larry scolded, "We have kids here!"

Miranda jumped up from her seat at the dinner table and carried the phone into the other room.

"What's sex?" Ten-year-old Kira asked.

Larry sighed and turned to six-year-old Abby. "Abbs," he said, "Leave the room."

Abby jumped up and ran into the front hallway. Larry looked at Kira. "Well, he began, "When a man and a woman love each other very much, they might want to have a little fun..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Lizzie, I can't believe this," Miranda told her best friend through the phone, "Once is enough, but _twice_? Lizzie, Gordo's _married_."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Soon Lizzie said quietly, "He said he doesn't love Brooke anymore."

Miranda sighed rather loudly. She thought of something to say. Both women were silent for some time. Then, suddenly, Miranda heard something from the dining room.

"EW!" she heard Kira scream, "You did THAT to MOM!?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Back in Massachussets..._

"Miranda, look, I'm being serious here," Lizzie whispered, "What do I do? What about Brooke? What about Natalie? What about my life back home? Oh, this is going to ruin everything."

Suddenly, Natalie popped into the room and told Lizzie it was time for dinner, then left.

"Miranda, I gotta go," Lizzie said, "I'll call you back."

She hung up, then went downstairs to join the family for dinner.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night...

Dinner wasn't bad. Brooke seemed a little mad about something, but otherwise everything was okay. Lizzie had rushed into her room right after, without even eating dessert.

Gordo walked upstairs and into his bedroom, where he found Brooke already lying in bed. He got into his pajamas and was about to get into bed when something hit his face.

It was a pillow. It landed on the bed, just as Brooke was thrusting a blanket at him.

"Brooke!" Gordo started, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Go sleep on the couch," Brooke grumbled, then rolled over so her back was facing Gordo.

"Why? What did I do?" Gordo asked dumbly.

Brooke shot up in bed as if she had been electrocuted. "What do you mean, 'What did I do'!?" she snarled. She tossed her hair over her shoulders.

"Huh!?" Gordo blurted. He ran his hand through his mass of curls.

"You're such a moron!" Brooke yelled, "I'm not as stupid as you are!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw the pregnancy test!"

Gordo froze and silence hung in the air. "What pregnancy test?" he asked her.

Brooke's face softened a little, but stayed serious. "I saw a pregnancy test in the trash can from the washroom," she told him, "It was positive."

Gordo gaped at her. "You don't think it's Natalie do you?"

Brooke gave him a disgusted look. "Creep," she hissed, then rolled over and shut her eyes.

Gordo stumbled into the hallway and saw Natalie standing in her doorway. She must have heard their argument, because she said, "It wasn't me, Dad. Ryan and I have never done anything. We don't want what happened to you and the Ashworths happen to us."

With that, she turned around into her room and closed the door.


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

Chapter Thirty Seven  
  
A/N: Thanx for the reviews! Last chapter from the weekend. I might update on Wednesday. Might.

I am SO NOT a fan of Avril Lavigne.

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

_You were all the things I thought I knew  
And I thought we could be  
_  
_You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
And all of the memories so close to me just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending_

**-Avril Lavigne "My Happy Ending"**

Gordo's jaw dropped and he stood in his place, in shock. _No_, he thought, _No, no, no....this can't be happening..._  
  
He snapped out of his trance and stomped towards Lizzie's room. He banged on the door. When he didn't hear an answer, he opened the door and barged in.  
  
Lizzie was pulling things out of drawers and closets, and was placing everything into open suitcases on her bed.  
  
"What are you doing?" Gordo asked.  
  
Lizzie turned around and jumped at the sight of him. "I-I was just...I was just..." she stuttered, "I was just packing for tomorrow."  
  
Gordo gave her a confused look. "Lizzie, tell me the damn truth," he said coldly, "Are you pregnant?"  
  
Lizzie froze in her place and her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "How did you-" she stopped in mid-sentence, realizing what she had almost said. "Why would you think something like that?"  
  
Gordo stared at her. "Don't lie to me," he said coldly.  
  
Lizzie fell down on the bed and threw her hands to her face. "I'm so sorry," she apologized in a choked voice.  
  
Gordo closed the door behind him and went and sat down beside her. "Lizzie," he began to say, but paused. A million thoughts ran through his head.  
  
_Brooke's just a friend who happens to have my last name....  
  
Brooke's my wife...  
  
Brooke has gone to college...  
  
Brooke can't have kids...  
  
Lizzie already has a child with me...  
  
Lizzie and I have known each other for our whole lives..._  
  
Gordo turned and faced Lizzie once again. He'd made his decision. All he had to do was tell her.  
  
"Don't be," he told her.  
  
Lizzie peeled her hands away from her tear-stained face. He eyes went round. "What?" she asked.  
  
"Don't be sorry," Gordo repeated. He scratched his head and started to regret what he had just said.  
  
"Gordo," Lizzie said, "I'm sorry. You have a life here, with Brooke, and I have my life in Hillridge, with...no one," she said slowly. She wiped her eyes and looked at him.  
  
"Lizzie, I don't love Brooke anymore," Gordo reminded her. "At least not the way I used to."  
  
A silent tear fell down Lizzie's cheek. She quickly wiped it away, then stood up and continued shoving things into her suitcase. "Sorry Gordo," she said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. Natalie can stay here with you and visit me whenever and I'll have this little one stay with me and visit you whenever."

Gordo jumped up and scoffed. "No way," he said angrily, "I don't want to share our children like their stuffed animals tossed between two toddlers." He swallowed, then added, "I don't even get to know what it's like when my child is born. That's never happened to me. I've never stood beside my wife's side as she painfully gave birth to a baby. If you leave, that'll never happen."

"Fine," Lizzie snarled, "I'll call you when I'm in my ninth month and you can fly down so you'll be there when our baby is born, how's that sound?" She grabbed a t-shirt, folded it, then crammed it into another suitcase.

"That sounds horrible," Gordo nearly shouted, "Why don't I just divorce Brooke and move in with you?"

"No!" Lizzie screamed as she zipped one of the suitcases closed. "I'm fine on my own! I don't need you!"

Gordo gaped at her, then yelled, "Oh, so you don't need me? Then what about our child? It's gonna need a father to look up to! What if it's a boy? He'll need a father to play soccer with and stuff..."

"He'll have a grandfather to look up to!" Lizzie shot back. She tossed some more clothes into a blue suitcase then went over to the closet. She pulled a few things out and carried them to the bed.

"What if your dad dies all of a sudden?" Gordo questioned. He ran a hand through his hair then glared at Lizzie.

"How would he die all of a sudden?" Lizzie asked angrily. She planted her hands on her hips and waited for his answer.

"Maybe I could hire a hitman or something-"

He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, because the moment Lizzie heard 'hitman' she jumped foreward and slammed Gordo in the nose. He stumbled back, and bumped into the wall.

"Asshole!" Lizzie shrieked, then yanked the door open, revealing Natalie and Brooke standing outside in the hall without shocked expressions on their faces. "Get out!" she yelled.

Gordo collected himself and did as he was told. The second he was in the hall, Lizzie slammed the door in his face and fresh tears poured down her face.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty Eight  
  
A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated for a couple weeks. Expect an update on Sunday or tomorrow. Everyone is going to hate me when they read the end of the chapter.  
  
**Chapter Thirty Eight**

_I know where you hide  
Alone in your car  
Know all of the things that make you who you are  
I know that goodbye means nothing at all  
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls_

**- Maroon 5 "She Will Be Loved"**  
  
It was three days later. Lizzie ignored Gordo completely. Natalie was a bit worried about everything that was going on, and Brooke wasn't herself.  
  
Lizzie emerged from the washroom after throwing up in the toilet. She looked to her left and saw Gordo coming out from his bedroom. She threw him a glare, then walked down the stairs. It was Saturday, and Natalie was at the mall with her friends, and Brooke must have been in the basement cleaning things out or something, because she was no where to be seen. Lizzie grabbed her purse, then slammed the door and walked out onto the pathway. Her car was at the shop, and it was going to be ready in just a few days. Then she would be able to go back home.  
  
She turned the corner and walked down to the bus stop, where she saw the bus pulling up. She dashed over to it and stepped inside. She was on her way to the doctor's.  
  
Gordo sighed and stared at the wall of his den. He was thinking of a way to apologize to Lizzie, but couldn't think of anything good enough to say. _I'm such a moron,_ he told himself for the 100th time that week,_ I shouldn't have said something so stupid._  
  
He didn't even know why he said it. It had just slipped out of his mouth.  
  
He sighed again, then grabbed an old photo album from the shelf that read 2003 on it, opened it, and started looking at the old pictures of him and Lizzie.  
  
At six o'clock, Lizzie was still out on the town, after getting positive results from the doctor. She was stalling, and she knew it. She didn't want to look at the jerk who she was staying with if she didn't have to. She went to the movie theatre and paid for a ticket.  
  
Gordo sat on the stairs by himself. The house seemed so empty. He was the only one at home. The house didn't only seem empty, but it looked empty. Maybe it was Brooke doing some spring cleaning, he figured.  
  
He looked at his watch. _When will she get here?_ he wondered. Brooke had left the house at around 3 o'clock with her car. She didn't say where she was going.  
  
Finally, at six thirty, the door opened, and in walked Brooke, carrying a few sheets of paper in her hand. She turned around and saw Gordo sitting on the stairs. "Hi," she greeted in a voice that didn't sound like hers at all.  
  
"Hey," Gordo said brightly, then jumped up and went over to kiss her, but instead she handed him the papers and a pen. "Here," she said in a choked up voice.  
  
Gordo hesitated for a moment, then skimmed over the sheets. His mouth dropped open and he looked up at his wife. "These are divorce papers," he said.  
  
"Yes," Brooke replied stiffly. She sniffed and stared at him. After a while, she finally asked, "Aren't you going to sign them?"  
  
Gordo gaped at her for a moment. "You want a divorce?"  
  
"Gordo, you don't love me anymore," she said in a breathy voice, "And don't say you do, because then you'd be lying to me."  
  
Gordo stared at her, shocked. "Do you...do you want this?" he asked her shakily.  
  
"When I was in San Francisco, I ran into the boyfriend I had before you moved here," she told him, "We almost hit it off, but I stopped, because I loved you. But in the meanwhile you betrayed me. I don't love you anymore, David, so if you would just sign these papers, I'll leave and we'll both be happy."  
  
_She wants a divorce,_ Gordo said in his head. _What good is it gonna do for me? Lizzie hates me._  
  
His shaking slightly, he signed his name on one of the sheets of paper. Then he handed it to Brooke.  
  
She looked up at him with tears glistening in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.  
  
Then she turned around and stepped out into the sun, closing the door behind her.  
  
And David Gordon knew that the woman he truely loved had walked out of his life.


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine

  
  
Chapter Thirty Nine

A/N: Hello people. This is the second last chapter to Can We Still Be Friends. I hope you guys like this. I doubt you guys will, though....this wasn't the way I originally planned on ending it. I wanted to make it different than other stories. I'm so author, so I can do what I want with the story.

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

Later that night, after Lizzie had returned from the movies, she had collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. Just as she was about to fall asleep, someone knocked on the door. Not bothering to get up and answer it, Lizzie called out, "Come in."

The door slowly opened and Gordo stepped inside.

"Oh, it's you," Lizzie hissed, and was about to grab a pillow and throw it at him, but he opened his mouth and said "Hi," before she could take the pillow.

They stared at each other for a while. "Hi," Lizzie said softly after a while.

Gordo closed his mouth, then opened it again and said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?

"Saying those stupid things. Especially the hitman thing. That was beyond idiotic."

Lizzie stared at Gordo, trying to see if he meant it. Then she said something completely out of the blue. "Gordo, I agree with you. I don't want our children being thrown around like toys."

"Lizzie," Gordo began, "Did you mean what you said that night we slept together?" He reached up and ran a hand through his hair.

Lizzie sighed. She thought about it for a while, then hesitated before saying, "Just a little bit. It's just so complicated, you know? We're so far apart, we're different people now from when we were teenagers. You have your movies and I have...hardly anything, I have to admit, but I want to have this baby so I can start off with a fresh start. And I agree that you need to be with your children also, we both need them. I don't want what happened to Natalie happen to our baby."

She took a deep breath, then told Gordo to sit down. He came and sat down beside her on the bed. He glanced at her, then stared into space.

"You're right," he told her, "We are different people now. We've drifted too far apart to get together. It's so confusing, I mean, when you first came here, I started falling in love with you, but then I had Brooke, and I loved her, and then I didn't love her, and right before she left me all the old feelings came back and the feelings I had for you went away. We're better off as just friends, Lizzie, as much as I hate to say it. I liked you when we were fifteen, and then I got a crush on you a few weeks ago. I guess we're just friends who happen to have kids together."

"I agree," Lizzie replied so softly you could hardly hear her. She rubbed her eye with her hand, then thought of something to say next. "I guess that when I'm in my ninth month you can come to Hillridge so you'll be there when the baby is born."

"I could do that," Gordo agreed, nodding his head, "Natalie could come, too."

"Wait," Lizzie said. She looked at Gordo with a concerned look on her face. "Brooke left you?" she asked.

Gordo sighed. "Yeah," he answered, feeling like there was a need to cry for the first time in his life. He really did love Brooke, he just denied it because of Lizzie. "She filed for divorce and moved out today after I signed the papers."

"You signed the papers!?" Lizzie shrieked. Her eyes were as round as plates.

"Of course," Gordo said, "It was what she wanted. She's happy now."

"Gordo," Lizzie said, her voice dripping with sugary sweetness, "That is the sweetest thing you've probably ever done! You're okay, though, right?"

Gordo sighed again, before answering. "I guess so. I'll move on easy."

"Good," Lizzie said, patting him on the leg, "Just remember, I'm always here for you."

"Yeah," Gordo said. He looked at her for a moment, then said, "Now may I have a say in naming our kid?"

Lizzie's mouth fell open. "What? Don't you like _Natalie_!?"

"Of course I do," Gordo said truthfully, "But I like some other girl names, in case we have another ones."

"Like what?" Lizzie asked.

"Gertrude," Gordo stated.

Lizzie made a gagging sound, then smacked Gordo in the face with her pillow. "Shut up!" she laughed.

"I was only joking!" Gordo told her.

"I know that, just don't joke about things like _that_," Lizzie said, "I don't want to scar our kid for life."

They both laughed at this, and continued their conversation until Natalie came home, who was relieved to see that her parents were on speaking terms again.


	41. Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

A/N: Hey, everyone. This is kind of hard to do since I haven't finished a whole story before. I would kind of thank some of my reviewers, but I don't really want to leave people out or whatever. Thanks to everyone who reviewed this fic, it really meant something to me. And the the a$$hole that flamed me for my last chapter, show me your work to let me know you can do any better than this. No offense to anyone, but I've seen worse stuff than this on this site. And just to let you know, this is my last Lizzie McGuire fic, I'm moving on to One Tree Hill and will be making a new account under my other email. For a little while I might be doing just shortfics or songfics. I really, really need a break.

This is going to be short, just like the prologue. But this wraps up the entire story. Thanks again, and here is the final chapter to Can We Still Be Friends.

WARNING: crummy ending.

**Chapter Forty**

_Let's admit we made a mistake but  
Can we still be friends?  
Heartbreak's never easy to take but  
Can we still be friends? _

It's a strange, sad affair  
Sometimes seems like we just don't care  
Don't waste time feeling hurt  
We've been through hell together

Lizzie shoved the last suitcase into the trunk of her car, then closed the door and turned around to face Gordo and Natalie. "Well," she began, "I guess this is it."

Natalie looked around her, then her eyes rested on her mother. "Yeah," she said, a sigh escaping from her mouth.

Gordo looked slightly nervous and ran a hand through his hair for the third time that morning. "So..." he started to say but drifted off.

Lizzie crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. Everyone stood there in awkward silence. Finally, Natalie spoke up.

"So what's going to happen with the baby?" she asked.

Lizzie and Gordo quickly glanced at each other, "Well," Lizzie said, "It's gonna be born in nine months."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I'm being serious here!" she said. She planted her hands on her hips.

Gordo stared at his daughter for a minute. "We're going to Hillridge in her eighth month, so that we have a bit of time before the baby is born."

"And you guys are probably going to be staying for a while after that so that you can actually be with the baby," Lizzie added, opening the back door of her car and tossing a backpack in. She leaned against the car door after closing it and watched her daughter and her best friend standing like lumps, not knowing what to say next.

"I might be doing a movie in California, so I'll check up on that," Gordo said, shifting from one foot to another. There was another awkward silence.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Gordo finally said, "I'll be right back." He turned and jogged into the house. A minute later, he came out holding a few brown paper bags and handed them to Lizzie. She blinked at him, not knowing what they were for.

"Uh, Gordo?" Lizzie asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"You know, just in case..." he informed her.

Lizzie laughed, then smiled. "Oh!" she giggled, and then she gave him a playful punch. "Shut up!" she said.

Natalie cleared her throat. "So..." she said again.

"Well," Gordo began, "See you soon."

"Yeah," Lizzie shrugged slightly, "Bye."

She turned and started to get into the car, then suddenly turned around and gave Gordo and Natalie a final hug. "Thanks," she told them.

Then she stepped inside her car and started it up. Gordo and Natalie followed her down to the curb and watched her drive down the street.

They went inside long after her car disappeared down the street.

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_Can we still be friends?  
Can we still get together sometimes?  
Can we still be friends?  
You know that life will still go on_

_We awoke from our dream  
Things are not always what they seem  
Memories linger on  
It's like a sweet, sad, old song_

About four months later, Gordo and Natalie flew to Hillridge to film Gordo's new movie. They spent lots of time with Lizzie, and five months later, Nathan Howard Gordon was born. Lizzie let Gordo choose the name, of course, but was a little ticked about the whole Natalie-and-Nathan thing. But she eventually shrugged it off, and had loads of fun showing off her baby boy to her family.

After Gordo was finished with his movie, he and Natalie had all their things brought down to Hillridge and moved into a house not far from Lizzie's. They would miss their old home, but loved living in the town they had grown up in.

After a long time, Lizzie and Gordo finally put the pieces of their life back together, and they were finally able to relax and enjoy life. It hadn't turned out the way they expected, but it was just as great.

But some people still don't get how they can be _just friends._

**END**


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